Business
Update on Possible Impact of COVID-19
Update on Possible Impact of COVID-19.
About this update from Videndum Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n RNS Number : 4706H\n Vitec Group PLC (The)\n 25 March 2020\n \n \n \n \n NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO THE SAME WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.\n \n \n \n \n \n 25 March 2020\n \n The Vitec Group plc\n Update on the possible impact of COVID-19\n As COVID-19 continues to impact people's health and economies around the world, The Vitec Group plc (\"Vitec\" or \"the Group\"), provides the following update.\n The Group continues to implement detailed COVID-19 response plans, as the advice from Governments in the countries where we operate evolves. Our aims remain to safeguard employee health and wellbeing, continue to support our customers, protect the Group's financial position and manage our supply chain. The response of our teams has been outstanding.\n It is very difficult to provide financial guidance, given the evolving situation. Nonetheless, the Group now expects to experience significantly more disruption than anticipated at the time of the FY2019 results announcement on 28 February 2020, not only to end user demand but also affecting our global manufacturing facilities (most of which are now temporarily shut down) and our distribution hubs. We are taking substantial actions to manage costs and cash to reinforce the financial strength and resilience of our business and to ensure that we emerge in good shape when the crisis is over. Clearly at this stage the duration and total impact of COVID-19 is unknown and we have modelled a range of scenarios as to its impact on sales, profit and cash flow. Nonetheless, the Group's trading performance for the first half and the current full year is now expected to be significantly lower than our previous expectations.\n End market demand\n The image capture and content creation market is being increasingly disrupted across all regions with filming of TV shows and movies suspended, the majority of sporting events postponed, including the Summer Olympic Games, professional photographers impacted, and a large number of retail outlets closed across EMEA and the Americas.\n Although trading in mainland China has started to recover, sales in EMEA and the Americas are falling dramatically. We currently expect the industry slowdown to continue for several...