GlobalData defers dividend as it assesses Covid impact

GlobalData said on Tuesday that it was monitoring the evolving Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, and said its priority was the health and safety of its staff, clients and wider stakeholders, while continuing to operate and provide clients with real-time data, analytics, and insight to help them navigate through the current uncertain times.

The AIM-traded firm said it was following all relevant government guidelines in the countries it was operating in, and given the “agile and digital” nature of its business, it was able to transition smoothly to a work-from-home model in “relatively short order”, and had not needed to furlough any employees or rely on government support.

“We recognise that many of our subscription clients are facing real challenges in their markets and are pleased that we have been able to offer a continued service, without any disruption, as well as developing a significant amount of Covid-19 specific content that is giving our clients unique insights into their sectors and geographies, at a time when they need it the most,” the board said in its statement.

“We have also been active in delivering free Covid-19 content through our news sites, which is helping a wider audience understand their markets and the broader economic and health impacts of the pandemic.

“The development and deployment of this content has been achieved in a very short time period and is a good demonstration of our agile centralised operating model.”

For its staff, GlobalData said it was “actively ensuring” that they had a “strong and stable” digital platform, which enabled them to continue to perform in their roles and stay in communication.

The company said it was “very focussed” on ensuring that its teams were coping with the challenges that working from home brought up, and offering them support and flexibility.

“We are sending out regular internal communications, including employee surveys focused around well-being, mental health and employee satisfaction, as well as holding regular information sessions to keep our colleagues up to date with company news and initiatives.”

GlobalData also noted that its staff had continued to support its nominated charities for 2020, and added that it had chosen an additional eight charity partners in its local communities globally who were working on specific Covid-19 causes.

To date, it said it had raised more than £0.1m, adding that it was committed to continue to support its global communities through the current period of disruption.

“With a high proportion of recurring revenue and broad sectoral diversification, our business model is resilient and renewal rates have been strong through the first quarter of the current financial year.

“Over 75% of the group's revenue derives from recurring subscriptions, so our revenue therefore remains largely unaffected since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and we continue to have good visibility for the remainder of the year.

“As a result of Covid-19, some events revenue has been deferred into the second half of 2020,” the board said, adding that revenue from events accounted for less than 10% of the group’s total turnover.

GlobalData said that, although it had a “resilient business model”, it was aware of the current unprecedented period of uncertainty.

Its board and management team said they were focussed on costs and cash flow, and as a result had taken measures to scale back its planned sales team recruitment, as well as postponing the filling of a number of open positions.

“We have a strong balance sheet, with good cash reserves and working capital along with financing arrangements that give us ample liquidity.

“However, we have taken the decision to delay the payment of the final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2019 by 30 business days to 9 June, which is within 60 business days of the record date of 27 March, to allow us additional time to continue to assess the full impact of Covid-19, as allowed under revised LSE guidance.”

At 1510 BST, shares in GlobalData were down 1.69% at 1,061.8p.