Previously announced Outlook for 2020 is therefore withdrawn.
As announced on March 16th the outbreak of Covid19 and actions taken by governments in key markets to control the outbreak, has impacted sales and profitability of Iceland Seafood International („Iceland Seafood“) from mid-March and will continue to do so in the coming weeks and months. This applies especially to the foodservice sector in Europe, which to a large degree has been closed. In contrast retail sales are strong and are expected to remain resilient. Iceland Seafood’s strong position enables the company to manage the situation effectively. Among actions that the company is focussing on are the following:
Preliminary draft of Q1 2020 financials indicate a Normalised PBT of €2.6m for the period compared to €3.5m for same period last year. As informed in previous announcement the most notable impacts were on sales and profitability of the HORECA and Foodservice sectors, especially in Southern Europe. Sales to retail, especially in Northern Europe have performed adequately.
Whilst it is still uncertain how much and for how long sales and profitability will be impacted by the situation, the Group will be negatively impacted in the coming weeks and months. Due to these negative short term impacts the previously announced Outlook range for 2020 Normalised PBT is withdrawn. Iceland Seafood will communicate further on the matter and provide an update on profit outlook for the year, as less ambiguity will be on the development of Covid-19 and the related restrictions.
Further information: