NCC Group PLC Trading Statement (1678H)
23 Marzo 2020 - 1:28AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMNCC
RNS Number : 1678H
NCC Group PLC
23 March 2020
23 March 2020
NCC Group plc (the 'Group')
COVID-19 Trading update
NCC Group plc provides a trading update in light of the rapidly
changing economic and social environment.
The Group was on course to meet expectations for the year ending
31 May 2020 until the outbreak of Covid-19. However, the cumulative
impact of Covid-19 delays and cancellations sustained in Q3 in the
Asia-Pacific region, coupled with increasing delays and
cancellations of work across Europe and North America since the
beginning of March, have led to a fall in revenues, specifically in
our Cyber Assurance division.
Although the business is forecast to trade profitably through
the month of March, the impact on revenues from cancelled or
deferred projects over the next few months is difficult to assess
at this time and therefore the Board is withdrawing current
guidance until normal operations resume globally. We will provide a
further trading update following the close of our year ending 31
May 2020.
Our primary concern is the health and safety of our people and
customers. Our first dedicated remote-working initiatives began in
February in Singapore and have extended around the world as a
number of our offices are now closed or closing.
Despite the current uncertainty of customer demand, NCC Group's
business has a number of features which give us greater resilience
in the face of the Covid-19 challenge:
- Revenues in our Software Resilience (Escrow) business (which
represents circa 45% of Group EBIT) are currently unaffected by
recent events and provide us with a strong underpinning. In
addition, there are early, tentative, signs of increasing demand
for that service as clients seek to improve their resilience;
- Approximately 70% of our Technical Consulting Services
business (circa 65% of Assurance revenues) is undertaken remotely
under normal circumstances and we have the ability to perform
almost 100% of our technical consulting work remotely subject to
client permission;
- Our managed services division (circa 20% of the Assurance
business) has a significant proportion of long-term revenues;
- Since the beginning of March, we have activated a contingency
plan enabling the whole firm to work remotely, except for those few
cases where our colleagues need access to specialised facilities in
which event specific working arrangements are being put in
place;
- We are benefiting from investments made in the first phases of
Securing Growth Together which have provided enhanced communication
and collaboration tools sitting on a secure and resilient
infrastructure; and
- We have a significant number of blue-chip clients including
over 60 Fortune 500 firms, 85 FTSE 350 clients and a number of
government organisations around the world.
In addition, the general level of cyber threat has increased as
a result of Covid-19 owing to higher levels of remote working
across much of our client base and the wider economy. We have seen
early evidence of bad actors already seeking to exploit the
situation. We believe these factors will provide us with additional
opportunities as businesses adapt to this new working
environment.
The Group has a strong balance sheet and enters this challenging
period in robust health. In particular, as at 29 February 2020, the
Group has a committed revolving credit facility of GBP100m and
seasonal net debt of GBP22.0m (February 2019: GBP38.6m) including
cash balances of GBP32.5m (February 2019: GBP18.8m). This facility
was agreed on 10 June 2019 and is not due for renewal until June
2024.
Adam Palser , Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"NCC Group is fully open for business having taken steps to
enable remote working with clients across the firm. We believe that
the Group is well placed to manage its business risks successfully
and take advantage of any opportunities once the Global pandemic
has subsided. Therefore, our objective is for NCC Group to emerge
from the turbulence caused by Covid-19 in strong shape. To that end
we intend to preserve our specialist delivery capabilities and will
balance short-term cost saving actions against this priority. The
Board and Executive Management will closely monitor the emerging
situation and, if required, will introduce further mitigating
actions."
The Group intends to announce its results for the year ended 31
May 2020 on the 23 July 2020 in line with the prior year
timetable.
EnquiriesNCC Group ( www.nccgroup.com ) +44 (0)161 209 5432
Adam Palser, CEO/ Tim Kowalski, CFO
Maitland AMO +44 (0)20 7379 5151
Al Loehnis
About NCC Group plc
NCC Group exists to make the world safer and more secure.
As global experts in cyber security and risk mitigation, NCC
Group is trusted by over 15,000 clients worldwide to protect their
most critical assets from the ever-changing threat landscape.
With the company's knowledge, experience and global footprint,
it is best placed to help businesses identify, assess, mitigate and
respond to the evolving cyber risks they face.
To support its mission, NCC Group continually invests in
research and innovation, and is passionate about developing the
next generation of cyber scientists.
With over 1,800 colleagues in 12 countries, NCC Group has a
significant market presence in North America, continental Europe
and the UK, and a rapidly growing footprint in Asia Pacific with
offices in Australia and Singapore.
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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