Regulatory News:
In response to the public health crisis that the world has been
facing for several weeks now, Veolia (Paris:VIE) – as a provider of
essential services and a partner of cities and businesses – is
fully mobilized to ensure continuity of service while protecting
the health of its employees, the Group’s two overriding priorities.
Every day, we have been able to rely on the commitment, courage and
exemplary dedication of our teams working on the ground to provide
communities with essential services.
Veolia has also put in place business continuity plans, tailored
to each country, that primarily aim to maintain the production and
delivery of drinking water and the treatment of wastewater; waste
collection and waste treatment activities; and energy management
businesses, both in its heating networks and at industrial and
tertiary sites that are continuing to operate.
To ensure continuity of service while complying with containment
measures, the Group has adjusted its organization and the way it
works. Remote working arrangements are now in place for all tasks
that can be done remotely using digital tools. Where work cannot be
done remotely, the Group has organized staff rotations and back-up
teams.
Since the start of the coronavirus epidemic, i.e. since January
in Asia, Veolia has taken steps to adjust the way it works in line
with public health requirements. Given the gradual resumption of
activity in China, we are confirming the negative impact of the
crisis in Asia as factored into the 2020 targets presented in late
February, i.e. 1% of Group EBITDA or around €40 million.
Until 12 March, the Group’s activities outside Asia were not
affected by the crisis. Since then, the introduction of public
health measures as the epidemic spread to the Group’s other
geographic regions has affected Veolia’s activities to varying
degrees.
Almost all of the Group’s facilities remain open, although the
impact on volumes is varying between business lines.
Water sales are slightly down, the heating networks business is
proving resilient, as are municipal waste collection and
processing. However, the industrial and commercial waste business
has seen a steep decline because a large number of businesses and
tertiary activity centers such as shopping malls have been forced
to close. Services for industrial sites and buildings are also
being affected where those sites have been closed. Finally,
construction work has largely stopped in France and has been
reduced outside France at Veolia Water Technologies.
This rapid deterioration in the situation has prompted the Group
to adopt measures in all of its operations to minimize the effect
of the crisis on its employees, to reduce its impact on earnings
and to make early preparations for the post-crisis recovery.
The main measures include:
● supporting the living standards of Group employees, using job
retention arrangements in countries in which such measures are
available, along with top-up remuneration paid by the company;
● taking a more selective approach to the 2020 CAPEX program
while preparing the Group for the post-crisis recovery;
● stepping up the cost-cutting program.
With a net debt/EBITDA ratio of 2.66x at the end of 2019, the
disposal of the heating and cooling networks business in the United
States in late December 2019 for $1.25 billion, a centralized cash
position of €3.7 billion at end-March, a bond maturity schedule
that is well spread out over the next four years and significant
undrawn credit lines, the Veolia Group’s financial position is
particularly strong and will enable it to get through this period
without any liquidity problems. Accordingly, on March 27, 2020,
Standard & Poor’s confirmed the Group’s BBB credit rating with
stable outlook.
The Board of Directors met today. It took the following
decisions:
● Since the duration of the public health crisis and its impact
on the global economy are not yet known, the precise consequences
and impact on business levels and earnings are still hard to assess
at the moment. As a result, the previously announced guidance for
2020 is suspended. The Veolia Group will provide more details about
the impact in its upcoming publications.
● The General Shareholders’ Meeting is still scheduled for April
22. It will take place behind closed doors in order to comply with
France’s strict public health requirements, and voting must take
place either by post or online. An additional press release is
being published in relation to the meeting.
● Given the exceptional circumstances and in order to protect
the interests of all of the Group’s stakeholders in a spirit of
solidarity, a proposal to pay a cash dividend of €0.50 per share
will be put to shareholders in the meeting.
Antoine Frérot, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Veolia, said: “Our services – water, waste and energy – are
essential, and we therefore owe a fundamental duty to our
communities. In the current circumstances, our mission is vital,
because people are relying on us even more than usual. We are fully
mobilized. At Veolia, we are doing everything we can to protect our
employees and we are very proud of their dedication, which allows
us to continue providing essential services every day to our
customers and communities all over the world.”
...
Veolia group is the global leader in optimized resource
management. With nearly 179,000 employees worldwide, the Group
designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions
which contribute to the sustainable development of communities and
industries. Through its three complementary business activities,
Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available
resources, and to replenish them. In 2019, the Veolia group
supplied 98 million people with drinking water and 67 million
people with wastewater service, produced nearly 45 million megawatt
hours of energy and treated 50 million metric tons of waste. Veolia
Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated
revenue of €27.189 billion in 2019 (USD 29.9 billion).
www.veolia.com
Important disclaimer
Veolia Environnement is a corporation listed on the Euronext
Paris. This press release contains “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of the provisions of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ
materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a
number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our
control, including but not limited to: the risk of suffering
reduced profits or losses as a result of intense competition, the
risk that changes in energy prices and taxes may reduce Veolia
Environnement’s profits, the risk that governmental authorities
could terminate or modify some of Veolia Environnement’s contracts,
the risk that acquisitions may not provide the benefits that Veolia
Environnement hopes to achieve, the risks related to customary
provisions of divesture transactions, the risk that Veolia
Environnement’s compliance with environmental laws may become more
costly in the future, the risk that currency exchange rate
fluctuations may negatively affect Veolia Environnement’s financial
results and the price of its shares, the risk that Veolia
Environnement may incur environmental liability in connection with
its past, present and future operations, as well as the other risks
described in the documents Veolia Environnement has filed with the
Autorités des Marchés Financiers (French securities regulator).
Veolia Environnement does not undertake, nor does it have, any
obligation to provide updates or to revise any forward looking
statements. Investors and security holders may obtain from Veolia
Environnement a free copy of documents it filed (www.veolia.com)
with the Autorités des Marchés Financiers.
This document contains "non‐GAAP financial measures". These
"non‐GAAP financial measures" might be defined differently from
similar financial measures made public by other groups and should
not replace GAAP financial measures prepared pursuant to IFRS
standards.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200401005626/en/
Veolia Group Media Relations Laurent Obadia - Sandrine
Guendoul Tel.+ 33 6 25 09 14 25 sandrine.guendoul@veolia.com
Analysts & Investors Ronald Wasylec - Ariane de
Lamaze Tel. + 33 1 85 57 84 76 / 84 80
investor-relations@veolia.com
Grafico Azioni Veolia Environnement (EU:VIE)
Storico
Da Mar 2024 a Apr 2024
Grafico Azioni Veolia Environnement (EU:VIE)
Storico
Da Apr 2023 a Apr 2024