FCA asks companies to delay financial results for at least two weeks amid coronavirus crisisCoronavirus - latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe deepening coronavirus crisis has forced UK companies to scrap dividend payments to shareholders worth £500m in one day, as heavy selling on global stock markets continued for a fifth week.The total amount of dividends cancelled this year so far has reached £1.5bn, as every sector of the economy feels the impact of the pandemic. On Monday the companies scrapping payouts to save cash included the B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher, the broadcaster ITV, the bus operators Stagecoach and Go-Ahead and the clothing retailer N Brown, whose brands include Simply Be and Jacamo. Related: Markets slump as US Senate deadlocked over Covid-19 stimulus - business live The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine.The Toulouse-based Airbus withdrew its 2020 financial guidance, ditched its dividend worth EUR1.4bn (£1.3bn) and suspended funding to top up staff pension schemes. The European aircraft maker signed a credit facility for EUR15bn to shore up its finances. The publishing firm Pearson suspended its share buyback programme but also said demand for its online educational products had jumped.ITV, hit by a slump in advertising, said it would save £300m by not paying a final dividend for 2019 and making cost cuts. The broadcaster has postponed some TV productions in the UK.The Irn-Bru maker, AG Barr, was one of the first companies to delay the publication of its full-year results, scheduled for Tuesday, in response to the FCA. It has frozen all investment and is scaling back marketing.Kingfisher also postponed its results and axed its final dividend for 2019-20. It said its UK stores remained open and that it was introducing a new drive-through option to enable customers to collect ...
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