CEO comment:
The fight against COVID-19 marked the latter part of the first quarter and the whole organisation has made a tremendous contribution to contain the spread. A challenging time, but Ambea was able to capitalise on the overall competence of our Scandinavian organisation. In our activities related to COVID-19, we have strived to stay one step ahead and used preventive measures to keep the virus out of our facilities and to limit its spread. The early introduction of visiting restrictions, support in routines and intensive work to ensure the supply of PPE were all important initiatives. But I would like to highlight the untiring commitment and skills of all of our employees who have been our greatest resource in combating this pandemic.
The financial impact of COVID-19 was limited during the quarter. Profitability was stronger year-on-year and we continue to prioritise measures to strengthen margins in the operations that were previously Aleris Omsorg and the opening of new Vardaga residential facilities.
We are carefully monitoring the status of COVID-19 and will continue to take measures to protect our care receivers and employees. Our assessment is that COVID-19 will have an adverse impact on sales in the second quarter of about 3 per cent and on earnings of approximately SEK 40-60 million. If we look beyond the next few quarters, our assessment is that demand for our services remains favourable.
Finally, I would like to thank all of our employees for the incredible work being carried out in this difficult situation. Together, we are performing a duty that is more important than ever - to offer people who need our support the best life possible.
Highlights of the first quarter 2020:Telephone conference:
Ambea will host a presentation with the possibility to attend through a telephone conference at 10:00 (CET) today. The presentation will be held in English and will also be available as webcast on:
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/8cosstir
Dial-in information:
To ensure that you are connected to the conference call, please dial in at least five minutes before the conference call starts to register your attendance and enter participation code 1190474.
Sweden: +46 (0)8 506 921 80
UK: +44 (0)20 71 92 80 00
US: +1 631 510 7495
The interim report, presentation and other material are available on www.ambea.com