Business
AGM Update
AGM Update.
About this update from Judges Scientific Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n RNS Number : 4081N\n Judges Scientific PLC\n 20 May 2020\n \n \n \n Judges Scientific plc\n (\"Judges Scientific\", \"Judges\", the \"Company\" or the \"Group\")\n AGM Update\n Judges Scientific, the group focused on acquiring and developing companies in the scientific instrument sector, today provides the following update ahead of its AGM which is being held in St John's Wood, London today at 12.00 noon.\n Update on Trading\n Across the Group, organic order intake as of 15 May was down 18.5% compared to the same period in 2019, caused by the closure of universities, the cancellation of scientific conferences and our inability to travel. This reduction in order intake has not been evenly spread across our key geographies with China/Hong Kong and the UK each decreasing 4%, North America experiencing a reduction of 25%, the Rest of the World reducing by 22%, whilst Rest of Europe decreased 11%. However, the order book is still comfortable and as at 30 April 2020 stood at 11.9 weeks.\n While the prohibition on travel has interfered with our ability to crystallise orders and perform installations, the crisis has also stimulated our businesses to make better use of online alternatives and has given some engineering teams additional time to progress their R&D projects uninterrupted.\n The Group has operated profitably in each of the first four months of this year and has generated positive operating cash-flow for the period. As a result, the Group has maintained a robust balance sheet with solid liquidity.\n Operational Update\n Throughout these unprecedented times, the main priority for the Group has been to protect the safety of our colleagues. Whilst approximately half of our staff are working from home, thanks to the Group's decentralised structure, our businesses have been able to put in place highly tailored and specific logistical solutions to allow manufacturing to continue throughout the crisis, whilst continuing to adhere to the UK government's rules and guidelines around social distancing and hygiene.\n Despite the challenges faced, the Group has only suffered minor supply chain issues, all of which have been mitigated and managed accordingly. As noted above customer closures have resulted in a minority of deliveries being postponed.\n Management actions taken to mitigate the impact of COVID-19\n The Boar...