TIDMOOUT
RNS Number : 2883H
Ocean Outdoor Limited
24 March 2020
24 March 2020
Ocean Outdoor Limited
("Ocean" or the "Company" or the "Group")
Group update re. COVID-19
Ocean Outdoor Limited (LSE: OOUT), a leading operator of premium
Digital Out-of-Home ("DOOH") advertising in the United Kingdom, the
Netherlands, the Nordics and Germany, provides an update in
relation to the Group's response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
Since the start of the calendar year, the Group was trading in
line with Board expectations up until mid-March. However, the rapid
spread of the Coronavirus across its territories has led to Ocean
implementing a series of steps to support its staff and shield the
business from a rapid deterioration in media and advertising spend,
which is expected to have a major impact on Group revenues. Given
the uncertainty of the situation, it is not possible to forecast to
what extent Coronavirus will impact this year's performance. Whilst
the Group had not provided any financial guidance for 2020,
previously published market expectations are no longer
applicable.
The Group has no material debt, a strong balance sheet with net
cash of approximately GBP20m, and adequate liquidity even under
these uncertain circumstances. Nonetheless, the Group is in
discussions with lenders to further bolster its liquidity
position.
Over the past two weeks, Ocean has moved quickly to
significantly mitigate the impact, including cutting all
discretionary spend, reducing employee hours, approaching suppliers
and landlords and introducing other cash conservation measures. The
Group is constantly monitoring its cash flow. At this stage, it is
too uncertain to comment on the precise outlook for 2020.
To protect jobs, Ocean's Netherlands and UK businesses are
reducing the staff working week effective from 1 April 2020, as
well as introducing voluntary unpaid leave in some areas. In line
with government advice, staff have also been asked to work from
home, with our IT systems geared for remote access to operate
effectively. At the same time, we continue to consolidate our
operations in Ocean Nordics, with the integration of AdCityMedia
now being fast tracked.
Ocean is one of the most dynamic and innovative operators in the
out of home sector, with digital assets accounting for 85% of its
business. It has a blend of fixed and variable rent contracts.
Given the nature of its business and the speed at which it can
react and deliver campaigns, when clients resume normal levels of
advertising, the business is structured to bounce back quickly.
Ocean's CEO Tim Bleakley said: " COVID-19 presents digital out
of home with a tough challenge. Governments have ordered DOOH
consumers to stay indoors, something which is clearly out of our
control, but which will have a material impact on our business if
prolonged.
"However, Ocean is a future facing, resilient business that was
built out of the last recession. It's led by an experienced,
dynamic management team across the Group, supported by dedicated
teams in the UK, Netherlands and the Nordics.
"More than two weeks ago we implemented significant mitigation
measures to prepare for this pandemic as far as was possible given
how quickly the situation is moving. Our people are equipped to
operate remotely, we have introduced flexible hours working; they
are safe and they are prepared. We've introduced campaigns across
our UK screens to support Local Heroes, key workers and services in
the front line and we are introducing emergency media funds to
support local businesses and those brands that are in the eye of
the storm.
"While restrictions on the movement of people have directly
impacted our sector, equally, this crisis has highlighted the
importance of the out of home medium the world over. Outdoor is the
place where people want to spend most of their time, so as soon as
the restrictions are lifted, our medium is ready to take the lead
by inspiring people to get back out there and rebuild."
The Board continues to closely monitor the situation and will
update as necessary. As previously confirmed, the Group will report
its Full Year results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2019 on
Thursday, 30 April 2020.
For further information please contact:
Ocean Outdoor
Tim Bleakley, CEO 020 7292
Susann Jerry, Head of Corporate Communications 6161
Yellow Jersey PR
Charles Goodwin
Georgia Colkin 07747 788
Joe Burgess 221
About Ocean Outdoor
Ocean Outdoor operates some of the most prestigious digital
out-of-home (DOOH) locations in the UK, Northern and Continental
Europe.
The Ocean portfolio features the UK's most iconic DOOH locations
including the BFI IMAX; the Landsec Piccadilly Lights and a
significant presence in the top 12 UK cities. Ocean's portfolio of
high-profile landlords and partners includes Birmingham,
Manchester, Glasgow and Southampton City Councils, Landsec,
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, the BFI and intu.
In the UK, a continued focus on Ocean's Digital Cities for
Digital Citizens philosophy has significantly augmented the Group's
position as an operator of high quality DOOH assets. Ocean
continues to deliver good organic development through new City
tender wins, the rollout of new locations in Scotland, London, the
West Midlands and Manchester and significant screen investment.
Strategic acquisitions that complement the existing DOOH
portfolio remain a strategic pillar of the growth programme. This
continued with three Dutch acquisitions in spring 2019, giving the
company a significant share of the Netherlands market where it has
become a major DOOH player. These subsidiaries have since been
rebranded as Ocean Netherlands.
In September 2019, Ocean acquired the assets of Visual Art, a
Sweden based independent, pure-play DOOH media and tech group which
operates in three Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark) and
key cities in Germany. This transaction expands Ocean's portfolio
across 23 Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield shopping malls in Europe, in
addition to holding the exclusive external rights to two of the
largest premium urban shopping malls in Europe: Westfield London
and Westfield Stratford in the UK.
In February 2020, Ocean closed the acquisition of AdCityMedia, a
Sweden-based premium out-of-home and digital screen tech operator
focused on large format digital and high-end city centre locations
across Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. The combined entities
of Visual Art and AdCityMedia, referred to as Ocean Nordics, will
create the leading DOOH operator in the region.
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