Christopher Johnson: Welcome to Dividend Watch. My name is Christopher Johnson bringing you the latest news on dividend payers. Burberry, the British luxury fashion brand, has suspended its dividend after its shares plummeted due to a disappointing profit warning.
The company, renowned for its iconic camel trench coats, saw its share price drop by over 15% over the last five days and almost 65% over a one-year period. On the news, Morningstar adjusted its fair value estimate for shares in the company to £13.30 from £15.70.
Burberry is among the luxury retailers experiencing a slowdown in sales amid a wider contraction in certain areas of luxury spending. The British brand's sales in the Asia Pacific region dropped 23% while sales in mainland China and the Americas also fell 21% and 23%, respectively.
This has not been helped by volatility in the C-suite, with Burberry seeing three chief executives come and go over the last decade. Its more recent chief executive, Jonathan Akeroyd, is said to be replaced by Joshua Schulman, the former CEO of Coach and Jimmy Choo, effective immediately.