Business
COVID-19 update
COVID-19 update.
About this update from M&c Saatchi Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n RNS Number : 5482I\n M&C Saatchi PLC\n 02 April 2020\n \n \n \n COVID-19 update\n M&C Saatchi plc provides the following update on the impact of COVID-19.\n Trading in the first two months of 2020 was in line with the Board's expectations. We began to feel the impact of COVD-19 in March, with a reduction in activity in several of our markets following government restrictions on movement and the consequent reduction in economic activity.\n The Group's priorities since the start of the pandemic have been the safety of employees, the delivery of excellent work for clients, maintaining close controls on the cost base and the preservation of cash. The Board has been undertaking strenuous stress-testing of the financial models under different scenarios (and will continue to do so) and remains confident about the liquidity status of the Group for the foreseeable future. We would like to thank our employees for the courage, dedication and ingenuity they have shown during these past few weeks.\n All Group companies continue to operate and serve our clients, with the majority of offices currently operating a remote working policy. Whilst we have seen a sharp drop in demand across the group, we continue to pitch for new business and there are still some areas where demand for our services remains steady, e.g. our talent and influencer businesses.\n As a result, our performance was substantially weaker in March than in January and February. It is clear that COVID-19 will continue to have an impact on the business. At this stage, however, it is not possible to accurately predict the scale or duration of the impact. As a result, we are not providing financial guidance for 2020. We will provide an update when appropriate.\n We are taking wide-ranging action to mitigate the financial impact of the crisis and maintain a strong liquidity position in anticipation of a further deterioration in the business environment.\n The Group had approximately £45m of cash worldwide as at 23rd March 2020. This includes a fully drawn revolving credit facility (RCF) with NatWest of £36m, leaving a net cash position of £9m. Although the Group is in a net cash position, the RCF and cash is typically required for working capital purposes. The £36m RCF and £5m overdraft facility (which is undrawn), was recently extended through to 31 Jul...