Trading Update and Statement re COVID-19

RNS Number : 3653G

Infrastructure India plc

17 March 2020

 

17 March 2020

Infrastructure India plc

("IIP", the "Company and together with its subsidiaries the "Group")

Trading Update and Statement re COVID-19

Infrastructure India plc, an AIM quoted infrastructure fund investing directly into assets in India, provides the following update in relation to IIP's largest asset, Distribution Logistics Infrastructure Limited ("DLI"), as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

During the first quarter of the calendar year, DLI performed well, with increased revenue and lower quarter on quarter costs and timely project completion. Construction at Nagpur, including a Private Freight Terminal and additional warehousing, is now complete and operations at the new facilities have been ramping up. Works are progressing at Bangalore and Palwal with both sites expecting initial operations to commence in Q2 2020. At Chennai, DLI is working through regulatory approvals and completion of the terminal remains on target for the end of 2020.

The primary market impact of the global pandemic at present has been an overall reduction in the flow of export-import goods between India and China and changes in the flow of goods has had an impact on the cycling balance of containers.

Reduced movements of goods and raw materials between China and India has impacted some of DLI's customers' inventories and therefore production and shipping. The changes in the balance of movements of goods, as a result of the global pandemic, are resulting in bottlenecks as empty containers need to be  repositioned to meet domestic and export shipments. In particular, a current lack of available empty containers is having an impact on Indian hinterland exporters.

The Group anticipates that this trend will become more evident across the Indian domestic market, which imports raw materials from China, in the near term.

It is too early for the Board to quantify the potential future impacts of the global pandemic. Despite the progress at its terminals made during Q1 2020, DLI management anticipate ongoing volatility with freight volume and container cycles, given the current and potential future impacts of the global pandemic.

The Company will provide further updates, as appropriate, in due course.

Enquiries:

Infrastructure India plc  Sonny Lulla	www.iiplc.com Via Novella
Cenkos Securities plc Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker Ben Jeynes / Katy Birkin	[phone]
Nplus1 Singer Advisory LLP Joint Broker James Maxwell - Corporate Finance James Waterlow - Investment Fund Sales	[phone]
Novella	[phone]
Financial PR
Tim Robertson / Fergus Young

The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

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