Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ)

Sector:

Commercial Transport

Index:

FTSE Small Cap

261.00p
   
  • Change Today:
    -0.75p
  • 52 Week High: 425.00
  • 52 Week Low: 245.50
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 50.50m
  • Volume: 12,100
  • Market Cap: £131.80m
  • RiskGrade: 237

James Fisher pulls guidance after oil price collapse

By Josh White

Date: Thursday 30 Apr 2020

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - James Fisher & Sons said on Thursday that group trading in the first quarter was in line with the board's expectations, which were set at the beginning of the year, although it was now withdrawing its guidance as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
It said that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were becoming evident towards the end of the quarter, and had continued to impact the group from that point.

The FTSE 250 company said travel restrictions were adversely affecting projects in the Asia Pacific region in specialist technical, and a lack of subsea projects in West Africa was restricting "otherwise good progress" in marine support.

Ship-to-ship services and tankships had seen little negative impact to date.

"However, the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown have been exacerbated by a sharp fall in the price of oil and it appears likely that the imbalance between supply of oil and gas and real demand will maintain downward pressure on oil prices for a prolonged period," the James Fisher board said in its statement.

"The group is well diversified by end market and geography and, whilst in Norway - 3% of Group revenue - there has been an immediate drop in demand, other businesses continue to trade in line with our expectations despite logistical challenges.

"It is evident that the seasonal pick up in the second quarter in offshore oil and in renewables is likely to be delayed."

As it said on 26 March, given the uncertainty of the effects of Covid-19, the group had taken proactive actions to reduce costs, to optimise cash flow and to protect liquidity.

To date, those actions had included the deferral of all discretionary capital expenditure, instituting a hiring freeze, placing around 400 employees on temporary furlough and deferring pay for approximately 800 employees of 20%, including the salaries and fees of each board member.

The group said it had a "strong" balance sheet and good liquidity, supported by the actions it had taken in response to the crisis, including the suspension of the final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2019, as it confirmed on 26 March.

On an IAS 17 basis, net debt as at 31 December totalled ?203m, with around ?42m of headroom.

Committed facilities were increased by ?30m in March to ?280m, and headroom as at 31 March was ?64m, with a further ?13m of headroom on uncommitted overdraft facilities.

"It is impossible to forecast with any reliability what overall impact Covid-19 will have on the group - this will depend on how long the crisis lasts and on how quickly our businesses recover.

"Similarly, the effects of the oversupply of oil and gas remain difficult to predict.

"Mindful that the landscape can change rapidly, therefore, we have withdrawn financial guidance for the 2020 financial year, and will update investors when we have a clearer view of the likely outcome."

James Fisher said it was a "well diversified" company by geographical sector and by end market, providing resilience to profitability and cash flow, notably in the current challenging environment.

"We continue to closely monitor our business and will not hesitate to take swift and decisive action where necessary to ensure the group is well placed to provide long term value to our shareholders."

At 0937 BST, shares in James Fisher & Sons were down 5.7% at 1,346.68.

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Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Note 2: RiskGrade figures are provided by RiskMetrics.

 

FSJ Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 261.00p
Change Today -0.75p
% Change -0.29 %
52 Week High 425.00
52 Week Low 245.50
Volume 12,100
Shares Issued 50.50m
Market Cap £131.80m
RiskGrade 237

FSJ Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
12.73% below the market average12.73% below the market average12.73% below the market average12.73% below the market average12.73% below the market average
84.62% above the sector average84.62% above the sector average84.62% above the sector average84.62% above the sector average84.62% above the sector average
Price Trend
38.74% below the market average38.74% below the market average38.74% below the market average38.74% below the market average38.74% below the market average
46.67% below the sector average46.67% below the sector average46.67% below the sector average46.67% below the sector average46.67% below the sector average
Income
61.62% below the market average61.62% below the market average61.62% below the market average61.62% below the market average61.62% below the market average
33.33% below the sector average33.33% below the sector average33.33% below the sector average33.33% below the sector average33.33% below the sector average
Growth
40.99% below the market average40.99% below the market average40.99% below the market average40.99% below the market average40.99% below the market average
37.5% below the sector average37.5% below the sector average37.5% below the sector average37.5% below the sector average37.5% below the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 2
Buy 0
Neutral 0
Sell 0
Strong Sell 0
Total 2
strong_buy
Broker recommendations should not be taken as investment advice, and are provided by the authorised brokers listed on this page.

FSJ Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Interim Interim
Ex-Div 01-Oct-20 03-Oct-19
Paid 06-Nov-20 01-Nov-19
Amount 8.00p 11.30p

Trades for 28-Mar-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
16:35 760 @ 261.00p
16:35 168 @ 261.00p
16:35 332 @ 261.00p
16:35 95 @ 261.00p
16:35 30 @ 261.00p

FSJ Key Personnel

CFO Karen Hayzen-Smith

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