1st Jul 2020 09:59
(Alliance News) - RHI Magnesita NV said trading in the second quarter of 2020 has been significantly hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that it expects activity levels to remain subdued through July and August.
The FTSE 250-listed refractory products firm said it has experienced a slowdown in customer activity and a significant fall in demand in May and June.
This has resulted in a substantial drop in revenue across both the Steel and Industrial divisions with income down by almost 20% compared to the first quarter of the year. While Cement and Steel MEA/Asia have remained resilient, this has been offset by further weakness in Steel Europe, Steel South America and Steel India.
RHI Magnesita said that in order to mitigate the extent to which the pandemic will hurt its financial position, it has implemented cash conservation measures which include the temporary closure of three plants in Europe and one plant in Mexico, the suspension of a 2019 final dividend, the introduction of short time working arrangements in some plants and the deferral of EUR45 million of capital expenditure in 2020.
The Vienna-based company highlighted that it currently has liquidity of EUR1.1 billion and no material debt maturity before 2023.
RHI Magnesita shares were trading 2.0% higher at 2,506.00 pence each on Wednesday morning in London, but about 35% lower than at the start of the year.
By Ife Taiwo; [email protected].
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