15th Sep 2005 07:02
Aggreko PLC15 September 2005 Thursday 15th September 2005 AGGREKO UPDATES ITS ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA On 5th September 2005, Aggreko gave an initial assessment of the impact on itsoperations of Hurricane Katrina, and undertook to give investors a furtherupdate at the time of the announcement of its Interim Results, which are beingpublished today (see separate announcement). Since the storm, Aggreko employees have responded magnificently to the manychallenges of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As stated in our initialstatement, all of our staff are safe, although some have lost homes, and manyhave been affected directly or indirectly. Despite this, and in extremelydifficult circumstances, they have worked tirelessly to help the relief,reconstruction and humanitarian efforts. In terms of our own facilities in the area, our Service Centres in Baton Rouge,Mobile and New Orleans are now accessible, and none have been seriously damaged.Because of the state of the infrastructure in New Orleans, the local ServiceCentre's business is being largely carried out from Baton Rouge. The difficulties of access and communications mean that we have made limitedprogress confirming the status of equipment which was exposed to the worsteffects of the storm. This includes equipment on offshore oil-platforms in theGulf of Mexico, some 20 of which have been lost, and many damaged. The latestdata we have is that Aggreko equipment with a Gross Book Value of $0.3 millionis confirmed lost, and a further $8 million is at risk. The great majority ofthis will be covered by either customers' or Aggreko's insurance, and we remainof the view that the net balance-sheet impact of any equipment losses will notbe material. The main cost to the company is likely to be the revenue foregone from unitswhilst they are repaired or replaced, and to mitigate this and to respond to theadditional demands, large amounts of power, temperature control anddehumidification equipment have been transferred into the area from other partsof North America, and we are also shipping generators from Europe to assist inthe effort. Although it is too early to quantify with any accuracy the longer-term impact ofHurricane Katrina on Aggreko's trading, at the moment it is likely that AggrekoNorth America's storm-related revenue in 2005 will be towards the upper end ofthe historic levels of $6-13 million. - END - For further information Rupert Soames / Angus Cockburn 0141 225 5900Aggreko plc Fiona PiperThe Maitland ConsultancyTel: 020 7379 5151 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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