Archived article
Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.
Marine services provider James Fisher & Sons said its performance in the first quarter was in line with its expectations, but warned that the impact of Covid-19 had become evident towards the end of the quarter and had been exacerbated by the slump in oil prices.
Travel restrictions were 'adversely' affecting projects in the Asia Pacific region in its specialist technical business and a lack of subsea projects in West Africa was restricting otherwise good progress in marine support, the company said. Ship-to-Ship services and tankships had seen 'little' negative impact to date.
But the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown had 'been exacerbated by a sharp fall in the price of oil and it appears likely that the imbalance between supply of oil and gas and real demand will maintain downward pressure on oil prices for a prolonged period,' it added.
The company said it was evident that the seasonal pick up in the second quarter in offshore oil and in renewables was likely to be delayed.
The company withdrew its financial guidance for 2020, citing uncertainty over the overall impact of Covid-19 on performance.
At 8:04am: (LON:FSJ) Fisher James Sons PLC share price was +22p at 1450p