Ascential pulls dividend, cans Cannes Lions

Ascential said it was pulling its final 4p dividend and cancelling the Cannes Lions advertising conference in response to the coronavirus pandemic as it saw “significant disruption” across the marketing and communications industry.

The company also froze executive pay rises and imposed a temporary 25% board room pay cut, the information company said on Friday. The withdrawal of the dividend would save £15m in cash.

Revenue from Cannes Lions and associated regional events made up just over half of total revenue earned by Ascential's marketing division last year.

The company said it was working with long-standing partners and suppliers to minimise irrecoverable costs associated with the 2020 festival.