Italian Saipem Scraps Guidance

Italian engineering firm Saipem resolved late April 15 to withdraw its 2020 guidance as the business outlook was too uncertain. given the Covid-19 emergency. 

So far, it said, the company's operations have progressed in line with the four-year industrial plan approved on February 25 despite the concurrent decrease in oil price, thanks to "significant operative initiatives adopted by the company to better manage the Covid-19 emergency and the business continuity with the utmost respect for people’s health and safety."

But it said that the "intensification of the uncertainty caused by the development of the pandemic might cause a sharp demand contraction and consequently a delay of some projects." Revenue and asset value can no longer be predicted with any certainty.

Despite that, it said the "backlog and the balance sheet of the company remain very solid," and "the available liquidity is in line with the financial planning and is appropriate to support operational needs." And it said there are "no significant maturities in 2020 and 2021, following the early redemption of a €500 ($536)mn bond maturing in 2021."

Saipem will publish its Q1 2020 results as planned on April 22 and the shareholders' meeting will take place a week later. Announcing its 2019 results in February, it said it had a record backlog of projects totalling €21.2bn, which would include the Qatar North Field expansion project and Mozambique LNG.