This time of year is normally the high season for general meetings. Before the spring season, the largest companies had plunged considerably - the 30 most traded companies on the Stockholm Stock Exchange announced dividends totaling SEK 227 billion.

But then it went fast. Now, a few months into the corona crisis, nearly two-thirds of the companies have withdrawn or reduced their dividends, SVT's review shows.

"The situation is changing day by day"

At the end of March, SSAB's Board of Directors decided to halve the dividend. But already on Sunday the same week came a new decision to completely cut the dividend, which was announced at the meeting on April 1.

- The situation is changing day by day. The pandemic's impact on production, inventory and deliveries are moving material. The Board considered it wise not to pay any dividend, says Martin Lindqvist, CEO of SSAB.

Companies such as Electrolux, Sandvik, Skanska and Alfa Laval have also fully withdrawn their dividends, as well as three out of four major banks.

Thousands closed H&M stores

The companies that have had or have called the Annual General Meeting have together reduced the dividend by SEK 107 billion. However, many of the companies have expressed hopes to varying degrees about calling for an extraordinary general meeting in the autumn, and then be able to distribute the money to the shareholders. 

H&M's Board of Directors, on the other hand, like SSAB, seems to want to keep the money in throughout the year. The plan was to distribute SEK 16 billion, but now the proposal to the Meeting is that "there will be no dividend."

H&M has laid off 5,600 employees in Sweden alone, and has thousands of closed stores around the world.

Shareholders are waiting for notice

Some companies have postponed their general meetings to allow the board to "evaluate the situation." The shareholders of Volvo, Investor and SEB are still waiting to be notified of the dividend. Everyone must hold their votes by June 30.

- The uncertainty we have experienced so far is reason not to make a decision to distribute any money. Now the Board has a month to decide, says Johan Torgeby, CEO of SEB.

If all these three companies choose to cancel the dividend, shareholders in only the 30 largest companies have lost more than SEK 143 billion in dividends.