Brunel provides update on Corona impact
March 27 2020 - 3:00AM
Brunel provides update on Corona impact
Amsterdam, 27 March 2020
Brunel International, an international service
provider specialising in the flexible deployment of knowledge and
capacity in the fields of Engineering, Oil & Gas, Aerospace,
Automotive, Life Science, ICT, Finance, Legal and Insurance &
Banking, today provides an update on its current business in light
of the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and recent
volatility in the markets.
Jilko Andringa, CEO of Brunel
International N.V.: “As an international company with
presence in China, we were already confronted with the Coronavirus
two months ago. We immediately started working fully remotely in
Asia, and our team has done an incredible job to keep everybody
safe, while continuing to run projects for our clients. We tailored
our business continuity plan to these difficult circumstances and
included the learnings from our experience in Asia to respond
swiftly to the continuous changes in policies and market
conditions.
Our main priority is the health and safety of
our Brunel colleagues, and we strictly follow the guidelines of all
relevant health authorities. At the same time, we work hard to
safeguard the continuity of the services we provide to our clients.
In all affected areas, our people are working from home wherever
possible. I am touched by the drive, creativity and collaboration
our colleagues show in the way they manage their job in this new
and tough reality.
While we remain in a strong position due to our
resilient operations and our strong financial position, we have
taken the prudent decision not to pay out 2019 dividends. With
this, we are able to support organic growth opportunities we still
see in our markets. We feel supported by our founder and majority
shareholder, who recently increased his share in Brunel to more
than 60%, demonstrating his confidence in the strength and strategy
of Brunel.”
Financial impactTo date, no
material adverse impact on revenues has been observed from
COVID-19, nor on cash. However, we see the activity level
decreasing slowly. Based on the most recent predictions on economic
growth, or the lack thereof, we anticipate a lower level of
activities for the remainder of 2020. Due to the nature of our
business and contracts, we anticipate that the DACH region and The
Netherlands will be affected within the next couple of weeks,
affecting our Q2 results. In the other regions, we are more exposed
to ongoing large projects. The current conditions and the low oil
price will cause delays or cancellations of projects. As a
consequence, most of the other regions are likely to be impacted in
the course of this year due to the lack of new large projects. The
overall impact will depend on how fast COVID-19 can be controlled,
and how soon economies can start recovering.
Brunel’s financial position remains strong and
we have sufficient cash and borrowing base to deal with these
circumstances in a healthy manner. In times of declining
activities, our cashflow is supported by the release of working
capital.
DividendCapital preservation is
one of our key priorities at the moment, as it is impossible to
predict the length and depth of the situation. Notwithstanding the
fact that Brunel currently has sufficient liquidity to pay its
dividend, given the lack of visibility over the likely duration of
the pandemic and the volatility in the markets, we have decided to
take a prudent approach and cancel the proposed dividend for the
financial year 2019. If the situation normalizes in the second half
of the year, and our cash position remains sufficient, we will
consider to pay the dividend of EUR 0.30 per share as a special
dividend in the second half of the year.
Brunel will publish its Q1 2020 results on 30
April 2020.
- Brunel Press Release Corona update.pdf
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