Second quarter marked by the Covid-19 crisis, mitigated by a strong business recovery in June
A faster business recovery than expected
As from March 17, HERIGE had to face the consequences of an unprecedented health crisis. After a sharp drop in business (37% like-for-like) in March, April and May during the confinement, business started picking up in June (13.6% like-for-like) driven by a catch-up effect combined with a favorable calendar effect. Business trends in the second quarter were as follows:
- Building Materials Trading fell 15.8% like-for-like due to the partial and gradual reopening exclusively to professional clients prior to May 11, 2020. However, business picked up well once the confinement measures were eased, primarily in June.
- With construction sites shut down completely in April, the Industrial Concrete business was down 18% like-for-like, although it caught up significantly in June.
- Industrial Joinery turnover was down 24.8% like-for-like over the second quarter, heavily penalized by the closure of all sites until mid-April. Nominal capacity was back to the usual levels in late May, paving the way for a strong performance in June.
HERIGE posted turnover of €271.8 million for the first six months of the year, down 17.5% like-for-like.
Outlook and developments
In March, the Group implemented a series of measures such as deferring non-strategic investments and extending – in accordance with the law – loan repayment schedules, as well as not distributing a dividend from 2019 earnings. The remarkable commitment of all of the Group’s teams, strict management of the cost reduction plan, the approval of additional financing (State-guaranteed loan of €50 million), and the business recovery, which has continued in July, will enable the Group to significantly limit the impacts of the health crisis on the Group's profitability and cash position for the current year.
NEXT PUBLICATION: H1 2020 results on September 8, 2020 (after the close of trading)
All our financial communications are available on our website: www.groupe-herige.fr