Titon Holdings PLC COVID-19 Guidance (4156H)

TIDMTON

RNS Number : 4156H

Titon Holdings PLC

24 March 2020

24 March 2020

Titon Holdings Plc

COVID-19 GUIDANCE

Titon Holdings Plc ("Titon", the "Group" or the "Company"), a leading international manufacturer and supplier of ventilation systems, and window and door hardware, makes a statement on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trading to date

Following the trading update issued at the time of the Company's AGM on 18 February 2020, trading since then has been in line with the Board of Directors' expectations and has not been significantly impacted as a result of COVID-19. In the UK and Rest of the World trading has continued without interruption; in Titon Korea there was a short period during which the factory was closed to allow a deep clean to take place.

Operational actions following the Prime Minister's address on 23 March 2020

Following the broadcast by the Prime Minister on 23 March 2020, and in accordance with the UK Government's edict requiring travel for work only when absolutely necessary, the Board has decided to undertake, during the course of this week, an orderly wind down of its factory in Haverhill, Suffolk and accordingly to pause production in the UK, Europe and Rest of the World, excluding South Korea. This closure will remain in place until further notice. The Board acknowledges that this is a step that the Company did not wish to take but has no choice given the national emergency and the overriding need to consider the safety of employees and other stakeholders.

From a financial perspective the Company will be focused on cash preservation and will take advantage of the UK Government's measures to support businesses, whenever necessary. It will also endeavour to retain all employees, wherever possible, as requested by the UK Government. All necessary steps will be taken to mitigate the impact of the close down for the necessary period.

Operations continue in South Korea; in Titon Korea operating costs were substantially reduced as a result of the slowdown in trading experienced in 2019 and further cost-cutting measures will be taken, where necessary.

Capital Structure

At present the Group has a strong balance sheet with no indebtedness. The Group currently has cash balances of approximately GBP3.4 million, following the payment of the final dividend to shareholders in February 2020, amounting to GBP332,000, and the regular quarterly VAT payment to HMRC amounting to GBP302,000 in the same month.

We will be considering all routes open to us for additional financing should this be required, including the Government's support measures announced recently. This will depend on the length of the closure.

Future Impact

At this time it is very difficult for anyone to forecast when the COVID-19 pandemic will abate such that normal life can re-start. The Company's revenues, as with many other UK businesses in the building materials and construction sector, will be significantly impacted by such shutdowns. Titon is also mindful of the impact that further global public health policy measures could have on the Group's future operations around the world, as well as the broader potential impact of COVID-19 on the economy and the liquidity and solvency positions of the Group's customers in relation to future sales and trading debtors. Accordingly, the Group does not consider it appropriate to provide guidance on current and future year performance at this stage.

The Company will provide further updates to the market as and when there is greater clarity on the impact of COVID-19 on the trading environment and the UK Government's public health policy measures. The next scheduled reporting event is the Company's Interim Report, which is due to be published on 14 May 2020.

Keith Ritchie, Executive Chairman commented:

"It goes without saying that the health and safety of the Group's employees, customers, suppliers and all other stakeholders is a key priority of the Group and all decisions during this period will be taken with this in mind. The Group has taken measures to protect its employees wherever possible and will continue to do so. Titon has a robust balance sheet and we remain committed to supplying our customers with our full range of window and door hardware and mechanical ventilation products when normal business activities can resume.

Although this is a period of extreme uncertainty for everybody, we remain optimistic that the actions of European, US and the South Korean governments will successfully counter the COVID-19 epidemic and restore economic activity in due course."

For further information please contact:

 
Titon Holdings Plc 
 Keith Ritchie        Tel: [phone] 
                      713821 
Shore Capital       Tel: [phone] 
 Edward Mansfield    4090 
 Daniel Bush 
 
 

ENDS

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact [e-mail] or visit www.rns.com.

END

TSTZZLFLBXLZBBF

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 24, 2020 10:45 ET (14:45 GMT)