Business
Statement on the business impact of the COVID-19
Statement on the business impact of the COVID-19.
About this update from Keller Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n RNS Number : 4705H\n Keller Group PLC\n 25 March 2020\n \n \n \n \n For immediate release \n \n \n 25 March 2020\n \n \n \n \n \n Keller Group plc\n \n \n \n \n \n Statement on the business impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19)\n \n \n \n \n \n Keller Group plc (\"Keller\", or \"the group\"), the world's largest geotechnical specialist contractor, today provides an update in relation to the impact of COVID-19, including measures it is taking to actively manage the risks to its employees and operations to support the business to withstand this period of uncertainty.\n \n \n \n \n \n Our priority is the health and safety of our employees. Keller employs over 10,000 people globally, across 23 business units in 40 countries and six continents. The guidance and advice we are providing employees, follows World Health Organisation guidelines and is supplemented by local authority guidance in the regions in which we operate. We have also established an Executive Committee sub-committee to regularly review and update our advice to employees, establish business continuity planning, and to ensure divisional oversight is effective and properly coordinated.\n \n \n \n \n \n Our business has a diverse revenue stream, our raw materials are generally commoditised and sourced locally to our operations, the workforce is dispersed and flexible by nature. The major impact to date of the COVID-19 pandemic for the group is travel and activity restrictions invoked by national and local governments as part of their virus containment initiatives, and in the longer term by an expected reduction in the global macroeconomic demand. \n \n \n \n \n \n Trading in January and February was largely unaffected by COVID-19 and was marginally ahead of our expectations. In late March, market conditions deteriorated swiftly which have impacted trading, particularly in European countries within our EMEA division due to national and regional restrictions. However, we currently expect overall group performance in the first quarter to be broadly in line with our expectations.\n \n \n \n \n \n Looking forward, the situation is now becoming more challenging in North America, where the ability to continue to operate is subject to increasingly onerous state specific restrictions and lockdowns, and we expect this d...