General Motors on Monday announced it was suspending its quarterly cash dividend on its common stock to help navigate around coronavirus uncertainty.GM made other changes to its balance sheet including extending a $3.6 billion three-year revolving credit agreement to April 2022 to "further strengthen the liquidity position."- GM Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara said: "We continue to enhance our liquidity to help navigate the uncertainties in the global market created by this pandemic."
- Last month
Ford also suspended its quarterly dividend. - Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
General Motors has suspended its quarterly cash dividend on its common stock and suspended its share repurchases program to navigate the uncertainties during the coronavirus pandemic.
The company has also extended a $3.6 billion three-year revolving credit agreement to April 2022 in order to "further strengthen its liquidity position."
This follows the extension of a $2 billion 364-day revoving credit agreement to April 2021 that GM and GM Financial reviewed earlier this month.
GM Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara said in a statement: "We continue to enhance our liquidity to help navigate the uncertainties in the global market created by this pandemic."
She added: "Fortifying our cash position and strengthening our balance sheet will position the company to create value for all our stakeholders through this cycle."
The American auto manufacturer had an annual dividend of $1.52 per share.
GM shares fell as much as 4% to $21.14 per share before paring losses to 1.7% around 10:15 a.m. ET.
The company said it remained committed to its capital allocation framework, which it said is "focused on reinvesting in the business at pretax returns equal to or greater than 20 percent; maintaining a strong investment-grade balance sheet; and returning capital to shareholders after the first two objectives have been met."
The company's plants have been shut down since mid-March due to coronavirus. GM suspended manufacturing operations in North America due to market conditions, and "to deep clean facilities and continue to protect people."
Ford announced last month that it was suspending its quarterly dividend and withdrawing previous guidance for financial performance.
Ford's North American and European manufacturing operations are also all currently shut down, with no firm date set for a restart.
They are currently in talks with the United Auto Workers union to open plants.
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