Due to the coronavirus crisis, there are 32 cancellations of dividend distribution this year and 31 decreases compared to the amount initially announced, according to a report conducted with major French listed groups.
These cancellations or reductions represented an amount of 27 billion euros.
More than half of the largest French listed companies have given up distributing a dividend this year or reduced its amount, due to the health crisis, according to a report published on Friday by the High Committee on Corporate Governance (HCGE).
"Among the member companies of Afep (other than family holdings and foreign groups), there are 32 cancellations of dividend distributions" and "31 reductions compared to the amount initially announced for the 2019 financial year", details the HCGE, responsible for the Afep-Medef good governance code, in its annual report.
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In total, 95 French companies are members of AFEP, according to the organization's website.
However, among the companies having canceled the payment of a dividend, some reserve the right to distribute one in the fall, specifies the report, without saying how many are in this case.
And six CAC 40 groups have decided to maintain full payment of their dividend for the 2019 financial year, despite the crisis.
In the spring, the government made the allocation of certain public aid (loan guaranteed by the State, deferral of charges) subject to the absence of payment of dividends or share buybacks.
He also called for “moderation” if the company used the partial unemployment scheme.
"These cancellations or reductions represented 27 billion euros, a decrease in the amounts distributed of 41% compared to the distributions made for the past financial year", specifies the HCGE.
In addition, at the call of Afep, 75 companies announced that their managers and / or directors would reduce their remuneration by a quarter during the period when some of their employees would be placed on partial unemployment.
Increasing feminization
In its report, the HCGE also examines the feminization of the governing bodies of large listed companies and notes "a significant increase" in the proportion of women on boards of directors.
"For the 2019 financial year, 38 SBF 120 companies (compared to 35 in 2018) reached or exceeded 50% of women directors," he adds.
On the other hand, women remain less present in the executive committees (22%) and they are totally absent in eight SBF 120 companies, including two of the CAC 40. Moreover, only 35% of CAC 40 companies have quantified targets. on the evolution of women in the executive committees and for those who have goals of feminization of their governing bodies, some "propose action plans with the first achievements in the very long term (2025 and beyond), which does not 'is not acceptable ", judges the HCGE.
More employee representation
In terms of employee representation, nearly 95% of the CAC 40 groups have opened their boards of directors to employee representatives.
On the other hand, while the Afep-Medef code recommends that at least one employee director be present on the remuneration committee, this is not the case in more than a third of companies, regrets the report.
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Finally, while companies must publish this year the pay gap between managers and employees, the HCGE calls on companies to specify their calculation method, in accordance with the recommendation of Afep.