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RNS Number : 5026I
National Grid PLC
02 April 2020
02 April 2020
National Grid plc
Pre-Close Update ahead of 2019/20 Full Year Results
National Grid provides a pre-close update ahead of its Full Year
2019/20 results. Financial performance for the full-year, before
any COVID-19 impacts, is expected to be in line with prior
guidance.
Following updated guidance from various regulatory authorities
on challenges that companies and their auditors currently face in
preparing audited financial information as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic, National Grid has reviewed its reporting timetable and we
now aim to publish full year results in mid-June, with a planned
date to be confirmed in due course.
Our people and our customers
Our primary focus is on our people, our customers and operations
as we look to manage the impact from the COVID-19 outbreak, and
meet our obligations to provide essential services to our
customers. Our teams have swiftly and successfully implemented our
business continuity plans, which are working well across our
businesses. This is enabling us to assess impacts on our capital
delivery programmes day by day to maintain safe working
environments for our teams. We continue to work closely with
regulators and governments across our operations to ensure our
customers and communities have access to the energy they need
through this time. In the US, we have filed to defer some rate
increases that were scheduled to come into effect on 1 April.
COVID-19
At this stage we have not seen a material impact on our
financial performance as a result of COVID-19, however we are
starting to see some delays and disruption to our capital
programme. In progressing our capital programme, working closely
with our regulators and other relevant authorities in each of our
jurisdictions, we will prioritise the health and safety of our
employees, customers and communities. In the US, we have suspended
debt collection and customer termination activities across our
jurisdictions, which is resulting in near term lower customer
collections, and could result in increasing levels of bad debt and
associated provisions. Whilst this uncertainty persists, we will
continue to monitor the situation closely.
Our balance sheet remains strong with GBP5.5bn of undrawn
committed bank facilities.
FY19/20
We expect to deliver underlying earnings for FY20, before any
COVID-19 impacts, in line with the technical guidance provided at
our half year results last November.
In determining the final dividend for 2019/20 the Board will, as
always, take into account expected business performance and
regulatory developments, including an assessment of the impact of
COVID-19.
Update to Technical Guidance for 2019/20
Compared to our previous guidance, we expect higher operating
costs in our US business due to further storm remediation costs,
however, these are expected to be offset by stronger NGV
performance and lower net finance costs, partly due to lower costs
on RPI-linked debt. As a result, our expectation for underlying
earnings per share for the Group is in line with our previous
guidance, before taking account of any COVID-19 impacts.
Notes:
'Underlying' represents statutory results excluding exceptional
items, remeasurements, timing and major storm costs.
Investors and Analysts
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Media
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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
This announcement contains certain statements that are neither
reported financial results nor other historical information. These
statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These
statements include information with respect to National Grid's (the
Company) financial condition, its results of operations and
businesses, strategy, plans and objectives. Words such as 'aims',
'anticipates', 'expects', 'should', 'intends', 'plans', 'believes',
'outlook', 'seeks', 'estimates', 'targets', 'may', 'will',
'continue', 'project' and similar expressions, as well as
statements in the future tense, identify forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
National Grid's future performance and are subject to assumptions,
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results to
differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions, risks and
uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond National Grid's
ability to control, predict or estimate precisely, such as the
impact of COVID-19 on our operations, our employees, our
counterparties, our funding and our regulatory and legal
obligations, but also, more widely, changes in laws or regulations,
including any arising as a result of the United Kingdom's exit from
the European Union, announcements from and decisions by
governmental bodies or regulators, including proposals relating to
the RIIO-2 price controls as well as increased economic uncertainty
resulting from COVID-19; the timing of construction and delivery by
third parties of new generation projects requiring connection;
breaches of, or changes in, environmental, climate change and
health and safety laws or regulations, including breaches or other
incidents arising from the potentially harmful nature of its
activities; network failure or interruption, the inability to carry
out critical non network operations and damage to infrastructure,
due to adverse weather conditions including the impact of major
storms as well as the results of climate change, due to
counterparties being unable to deliver physical commodities, or due
to the failure of or unauthorised access to or deliberate breaches
of National Grid's IT systems and supporting technology; failure to
adequately forecast and respond to disruptions in energy supply;
performance against regulatory targets and standards and against
National Grid's peers with the aim of delivering stakeholder
expectations regarding costs and efficiency savings, and customers
and counterparties (including financial institutions) failing to
perform their obligations to the Company. Other factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those described in
this announcement include fluctuations in exchange rates, interest
rates and commodity price indices; restrictions and conditions
(including filing requirements) in National Grid's borrowing and
debt arrangements, funding costs and access to financing;
regulatory requirements for the Company to maintain financial
resources in certain parts of its business and restrictions on some
subsidiaries' transactions such as paying dividends, lending or
levying charges; the delayed timing of recoveries and payments in
National Grid's regulated businesses and whether aspects of its
activities are contestable; the funding requirements and
performance of National Grid's pension schemes and other
post-retirement benefit schemes; the failure to attract, develop
and retain employees with the necessary competencies, including
leadership skills, and any significant disputes arising with
National Grid's employees or the breach of laws or regulations by
its employees; the failure to respond to market developments,
including competition for onshore transmission; the threats and
opportunities presented by emerging technology; the failure by the
Company to respond to, or meet its own commitments as a leader in
relation to, climate change development activities relating to
energy transition, including the integration of distributed energy
resources; and the need to grow the Company's business to deliver
its strategy, as well as incorrect or unforeseen assumptions or
conclusions (including unanticipated costs and liabilities)
relating to business development activity. For further details
regarding these and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties that
may impact National Grid, please read the Strategic Report section
and the 'Risk factors' on pages 212 to 215 of National Grid's most
recent Annual Report and Accounts as updated by National Grid's
unaudited half-year financial information for the six months ended
30 September 2019 published on 14 November 2019. In addition, new
factors emerge from time to time and National Grid cannot assess
the potential impact of any such factor on its activities or the
extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause
actual future results to differ materially from those contained in
any forward-looking statement. Except as may be required by law or
regulation, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of
its forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of
this announcement.
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 rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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