This represents 1 of their market capitalization compared to 1

Despite the crisis, the returned money to the shareholders in 2008 have only slightly back. In the full season of announcement results and dividends and then the subject has become a theme of society, "rendered" money total, dividends and redemptions of shares, has only slightly flexed. The CAC 40 companies contributed EUR 54.2 billion in 2008, 57.2 billion euros in 2007, according to the letter "vernimmen", published on Friday.

The total mask disparate developments: If dividends have been preserved, the share repurchases, them, significantly decreased. The Paris index companies acquired 11.2 billion euros for their own actions in 2008 (1), or a fall of 42 over 2007. This represents 1 of their market capitalization (compared to 1.4 the previous year). "Most of the companies have ceased their operations in the second half, on a background of deepening of the crisis, says Yann Le Fur, co-author of the letter. And the biggest contributors in 2007 were the financial, which significantly reduces these operations. "This sector has bought last year only 283 million euros, against EUR 5.7 billion in 2007.

Redemptions of last year were due to a limited number of companies. Only five companies ArcelorMittal (4.1 billion), GDF Suez (1.3 billion), Sanofi-Aventis (1.2 billion), Total (1.2 billion) and l ' Oréal (933 million) accounted for three quarters of the total amounts. "In 2007, it took ten groups to achieve this same percentage", indicate the authors of the study. Conversely, 13 companies, or one quarter of the rating did not of significant redemptions.

ArcelorMittal has been, for the second year in a row, the largest contributor: he bought three times as many shares that he has paid dividends. "The share buyback is used to make the shareholder transient excess cash, while the dividend is a basement that hopefully perennial, specify specialists." In a sector such as the steel industry, with large variations of activity too increase the dividend would run the risk of not being able to keep it in the future.

Avoiding a too negative signal

To avoid giving a too negative signal to the market, businesses have sought to preserve, to a certain extent, the dividends. Over long period, the volatility of dividends (at 8) is significantly lower than that of the results (25), according to calculations by the Société Générale on European companies listed, since 1970.

In the difficult phase, dividends generally tend to back less than the profit, so that the rate of distribution, calculated by the report dividends on net profits (to 42 percent on the CAC 40 in 2008), was able to record peaks in full bleak conditions. Conversely, "in recent years, companies have tended to increase their dividends faster than profits, to keep yields high phase of stock gains", said Fabrice Théveneau, responsible for research activities of Société Générale.

This desire to maintain the dividend explains the continuation of the increase in payments: the CAC 40 groups have spent in 2008 (to the title of the 2007 fiscal year) nearly 43 billion euros, against 37.9 billion in 2007. Pace decelerated ( 14 between 2007 and 2008, after 21 between 2006 and 2007) However, signs of beginning of the crisis. As a comparison, profits increased slightly between 2006 and 2007, but are expected downturn in 2008, around 95 billion euros (for non-recurring profits, according to the consensus to early January).