VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Finning International Inc. (TSX: FTT) (“Finning” or the “Company” or “we”, “our” or “us”) announces an update on its COVID-19 response and financial flexibility.
We continue to adapt to the impacts of COVID-19 on our business, with the health and safety of our employees, customers and communities as our highest priority. Our operations have been deemed essential services in all regions and remain open, except for five branches in South America that are currently closed in compliance with local quarantine restrictions. Operations currently closed in South America represent approximately 5% of South America’s 2019 consolidated revenues. Operations continue at all producing oil sands mines in Canada and copper mines in Chile; however many of our customers have announced reductions in capital spending and operational updates with a range of impacts on activity levels. Our global supply chain continues to function well, with minimal disruptions to date.
We are proactively working with our Board and salaried and hourly employees, as well as our union partners and government programs, to manage our costs in line with expected changes in business activity levels in each region. This includes Board and employee pay reductions, reduced work schedules, furlough, as well as workforce reductions in some areas. Our goal is to maximize flexibility and preserve our critical talent and capabilities through this disruptive period.
The strength and resilience of our business model has helped us to secure an additional $500 million committed revolving credit facility, which further improves our financial flexibility and liquidity. This facility has a term of two years, can be used for general corporate purposes, and has substantially the same terms and conditions as our existing $1.3 billion committed global credit facility, which matures in 2024. Due to strong working capital management, our cash usage in Q1 2020 was modest in what is typically a seasonally high cash usage quarter. At March 31, 2020, we had less than $300 million drawn on our $1.3 billion global credit facility and we now have more than $1.5 billion of remaining committed capacity.
“I am pleased with how the organization is navigating these challenging business conditions and controlling what we can, while continuing to serve our customers and keep our employees safe. As we set out to do this year, we have improved execution in South America, we are benefiting from a reduced cost base in Canada, and the UK is well positioned to capture upside from High Speed Rail 2 construction in the future. The quality of our organization and business model have allowed us to further improve our financial flexibility, and I believe we are well positioned for both the market challenges as well as opportunities that lie ahead,” said Scott Thomson, President and CEO of Finning International.
Finning International is the world's largest Caterpillar equipment dealer delivering unrivalled service to customers for more than 87 years. Finning sells, rents and provides parts and service for equipment and engines to help customers maximize productivity. Headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., the Company operates in Western Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Contact Information:
Investor Relations
Amanda Hobson
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasury
(604) 331-4865
amanda.hobson@finning.com
www.finning.com
Media and Government Relations
Elisha McCallum
Director, Global Communications
(778) 668-0185
elisha.mccallum@finning.com
www.finning.com
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains statements about our business outlook, objectives, plans, priorities and other statements that are not historical facts. A statement we make is forward-looking when we use what we know and expect today to make a statement about the future. Forward-looking statements may include terminology such as aim, anticipate, assumption, believe, could, expect, goal, guidance, intend, may, objective, outlook, plan, project, seek, should, strategy, strive, target, and will, and variations of such terminology. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: our continued response to COVID-19; working with our Board, salaried and hourly employees, union partners and government programs to manage our costs; expected changes in business activity levels in each region; our goal to maximize flexibility and preserve critical talent and capabilities through this disruptive period; benefiting from a reduced cost base in Canada; the potential to capture upside from High Speed Rail 2 construction in the future; and the belief we are well positioned for market challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the ‘safe harbour’ provisions of applicable Canadian securities laws.
Unless we indicate otherwise, forward-looking statements in this news release reflect our expectations at the date in this news release. Except as may be required by Canadian securities laws, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties and are based on a number of assumptions, which give rise to the possibility that actual results could differ materially from the expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements and that our business outlook, objectives, plans, strategic priorities and other statements that are not historical facts may not be achieved. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize. Forward-looking statements are provided in this news release for the purpose of giving information about management’s current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of our operating environment. However, readers are cautioned that it may not be appropriate to use such forward-looking statements for any other purpose.
Forward-looking statements made in this news release are based on a number of assumptions that we believed were reasonable on the day we made the statements. Some of the assumptions, risks, and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are discussed in Section 4 of our current annual information form (AIF) and in the annual management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A), which are available under our profile on sedar (www.sedar.com).
We caution readers that the risks described in the AIF and the annual MD&A are not the only risks that could impact the company. We cannot accurately predict the full impact that COVID-19 will have on our business, results of operations, financial condition or the demand for our services, due in part to the uncertainties relating to the ultimate geographic spread of the virus, the severity of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, the steps our customers may take in current circumstances, including slowing or halting operations, the duration of travel and quarantine restrictions imposed by governments of affected countries and other steps that may be taken by such governments to respond to the pandemic. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that are currently deemed to be immaterial may also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operation.
