VCISY Vinci SA (PK)

   By Sarah Sloat 
 

Vinvi SA withdrew its guidance for 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic's impact on business.

"It appears that Vinci will be unable to meet its target, announced in February, of achieving revenue and earnings growth in 2020," the construction and infrastructure company said.

In its airport business, Vinci plans to lower expenses and defer investments after a sharp drop in airport passenger numbers. Vinci said numbers have fallen sharply in March, down about 40% in the first three weeks and worsening further over past days.

In the auto-routes business, traffic levels rose in February but have since fallen on the intercity network. In contracting, a number of projects are on hold.

Outside France, it has been possible to maintain some activity in many countries.

Overall, Vinci expects a marked revenue decline, though for a limited time. It said it is taking steps to adjust expenditure and evaluate investment timing. It aims "to be positioned to recover quickly, in both Contracting and Concessions" when the crisis is under control.

Vinci said it has a large amount of liquidity, with available net cash of 6.5 billion euros ($6.95 billion) at end-February. It also has a confirmed EUR8 billion credit facility that won't expire until November 2024.

The company will update at the April 9 shareholders' meeting.

Write to Sarah Sloat at sarah.sloat@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 23, 2020 04:13 ET (08:13 GMT)

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