Published on: April 3, 2020

Cash remains king

Anexo’s trading update confirms that FY 2019E adjusted PBT will be in line with market expectations but that forward guidance is withdrawn given the current uncertainty over COVID-19 – although trading so far in FY-2020 looks relatively unaffected. Accordingly, we make no changes to our FY 2019E numbers and withdraw those for future years until the outlook is clearer. The timing of the FY 2019E results announcement will be confirmed in due course. Like others, Anexo is taking measures to preserve cash. Crucially, it continues to operate as an essential business under the current government restrictions. Staff are following the appropriate guidelines while providing a service to many key workers. Obviously, there is uncertainty over the long term impact of COVID-19 and therefore the focus on collections remains vital. In our view, the group remains in a strong position to drive cash out of its backlog of cases without necessarily committing further new working capital.