COVID-19 impacts first half and delays return of dividends
Metro Performance Glass
5 Lady Fisher Place
East Tamaki
Auckland 2013
Market Release
NZX: MPG, ASX: MPP
21 September 2021
COVID‐19 impacts first half performance and delays return of dividends
Metro Performance Glass (Metroglass) provides an update on the short‐term financial and supply chain impacts
resulting from NZ’s COVID‐19 lockdown and ongoing restrictions in Australia.
Three of Metroglass’ four NZ glass processing plants were closed from the 17
th
of August until the 8
th
of
September as previously advised. The fourth plant based in Auckland is currently preparing to safely
recommence operations from Wednesday following Auckland’s move into Alert Level 3 at midnight on Tuesday
the 21
st
of September. The Auckland plant is the largest in the group and was closed for more than a month in a
traditionally busy and profitable part of the year.
The NZ lockdowns have resulted in considerable disruption, uncertainty, and product shortages across the
domestic construction supply chain, which are expected
to impact the industry for several months to come as
manufacturers, distributors and builders restart and ramp back up. International glass supply and shipping
disruptions also continue to increase input costs, however Metroglass has prudently increased its level of safety
stock to a comfortable level.
Australian Glass Group’s three processing plants
are currently operating, and the business is achieving solid sales
performance, however varying state‐by‐state COVID‐19 shutdowns and restrictions are impacting the supply
chain, labour availability/absenteeism and profitability.
The financial impact of this period has been significantly greater than the April 2020 lockdown, and Group H1
EBIT is
currently expected to be circa. $10m below last year. In addition to the closure period, the NZ business
has faced input cost pressure in a more competitive market, and a lower NZ Government wage subsidy
compared to last year.
Metroglass’ net debt has been reduced significantly in recent years and is
expected to end H1 at a similar level
to the same period last year.
The above impacts are largely one‐off in nature. The construction pipelines in NZ and Australia continue to be
strong looking forward and Auckland’s move to Alert Level 3 this week is a positive step for
the industry.
The board has elected to postpone the resumption of dividends which were anticipated to be declared alongside
the Company’s interim results in November. While the delay is disappointing, the board remains committed to
delivering a conservative and sustainable dividend as soon as possible.
The group’s interim results will be
released in November 2021.
/Ends
For further information, please contact:
Liam Hunt, Investor Relations
(+64) 0 22 010 4377, liam.hunt@metroglass.co.nz
Authorised for release by the Metroglass Board.
Data sourced from publicly available filings. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@nzxplorer.co.nz. For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.
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