By Mauro Orru

EssilorLuxottica SA said Monday that its board of directors wouldn't put forward a dividend proposal at its annual shareholders' meeting on June 25 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Franco-Italian optical company said it might propose a special dividend before the end of 2020 if the recovery is strong enough as it monitors developments in the second half of the year.

EssilorLuxottica previously declared a 2019 dividend of 2.23 euros ($2.42) a share, compared with EUR2.04 a share for 2018.

"The board of directors also asked the management team to work on a series of measures aimed at reducing operating and cash expenses within the company, including the reduction or deferral of parts of its managers' compensations," the company said, adding that it opted to reduce members' attendance fees by 50%.

The announcement comes as the company seeks to manage a temporary decline in activity and shield its balance sheet.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com; @MauroOrru94

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 20, 2020 01:32 ET (05:32 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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