Victoria’s Secret owner L Brands Ltd (LB) will cut its quarterly dividend by 50.0 percent to $0.30 per share in the first quarter next year. The last dividend hike was made in the first quarter of 2016, with an unchanged payout since.

The new annual dividend of $1.20 per share yields 4.1% at a stock price of $29.31. L Brands will however pay one last quarterly dividend of 60 cents on December 7, 2018. The record date will be November 23.

“After extensive review, the Board of Directors plans to reduce the company’s annual ordinary dividend to $1.20 from $2.40 currently, beginning with the quarterly dividend to be paid in March 2019.  The planned reduction will result in a dividend payout ratio that is more consistent with the company’s past practice, and a dividend yield in line with relevant comparisons.  The approximately $325 million in cash made available from the dividend reduction will be utilized primarily to contribute to the deleveraging of the company’s balance sheet over time. The Board was assisted in its assessment by its financial advisors BridgePark Advisors and PJT Partners.” (source: L Brands press release)

L Brands, through Victoria’s Secret, PINK, Bath & Body Works, La Senza and Henri Bendel, is an international company.  The company operates 3,109 company-owned specialty stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Greater China, and its brands are sold in more than 800 additional franchised locations worldwide. L Brands has paid a dividend every year to shareholders since 1974.