Hi Allen,
Ik heb de vragen die bij ons spelen nog eens bij fugro neergelegd en heb onderstaande reactie gekregen. Het bevat geen nieuwe info maar het is wel een mooie samenvatting van wat Fugro tot op heden heeft gepubliceerd en met welke beweegreden:
the information that I can give you at this stage:
How is Fugro facing this crisis?
During the past two years, we made significant progress with the implementation of our Path to Profitable Growth strategy and divestment of non-core activities, leading to a gradual recovery of our results and cash flow. We reported 8 consecutive quarters (Q1 2018 – Q4 2019) of result improvement. We started the year with a strong order book. In January and February we showed mixed results by region and we started the month of March in good spirits.
The sudden and unprecedented deterioration in market circumstances due to Covid and the related collapse of the oil price has created a new reality, which we are managing as best we can. Our priorities are clear: preserve the health and wellbeing of our people and other stakeholders, ensure business continuity and reduce costs and capex in order to protect liquidity and profitability.In our ‘Covid update’ press release from 6 April and the first quarter trading update on 30 April, we have provided the market with information on the impact we have experienced so far from the deterioration in market circumstances.
We’ve said that we’ve seen the most impact of the deteriorated market circumstances in the Europe-Africa region, where we were about to start a number of projects where the country specific measures prevented us from moving assets and people around. In addition, in Europe-Africa, there are many differences in rules and regulations from country to country, impacting specifically the land business. Also the Americas was impacted, although to a lesser extent. All regions will be impacted in the second quarter, with logistic complexities and thus higher costs, postponements and some cancellations. We are proactively addressing these issues by implementing measures to significantly reduce costs and capex. We will monitor the situation closely and decide on additional measures when needed.
About our outlook
As mentioned above, the pandemic is expected to have considerable impact on second quarter results. It is impossible to forecast the magnitude and duration of the impact at this stage given the limited visibility on how this global crisis will unfold. The impact of the virus is amplified by oil and gas companies’ recently announced spending cuts due to the sharp decline in the oil price, resulting in the most challenging environment for the oil and gas industry in many decades. At the same time, offshore wind, in which Fugro has a strong position and reputation, is anticipated to show continued growth, though somewhat slower than assumed at the start of this year. The pandemic may in the short term result in a decline in building and infrastructure activities. On the other hand, Fugro may benefit from government initiatives for additional infrastructure investment programmes.
Given the high level of uncertainty, the implications of the current situation for 2020 revenue, margin and free cash flow cannot be reliably assessed at this moment. Therefore, at this stage the company cannot provide a meaningful outlook for 2020.
About our refinancing
At the publication of its full year 2019 results on 19 February 2020, Fugro announced a refinancing of its capital structure. The first phase was successfully completed with the placement of 8.3 million newly issued shares through a sub-10 equity issue. Due to the sudden and sharp deterioration in financial market conditions as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, on 28 February Fugro did not proceed with the next step in the refinancing including the offering of senior secured notes. As a result, the current revolving credit facility, which matures May 2021, remains in place and settlement of the repurchase of the 2021 convertible bonds did not take place, as the entry into the new credit facility and the repurchase were subject to the completion of the offering. Fugro is reassessing its refinancing options and expects to provide more clarity in the second half of this year, when Fugro’s business outlook becomes more clear and financial markets less volatile.