
Dear shareholders,
As countries across the world face an unprecedented public health crisis, we at Aliaxis are contributing where we can to slow the spread of COVID-19. We are taking measures to protect the health and well-being of our people and maintain business continuity as much as we possibly can.
As soon as the outbreak began, we activated the Aliaxis Global Crisis Management response. Every day, dedicated teams worldwide are working closely together to implement coordinated measures that help us anticipate and mitigate the impact of COVID-19. Via the Aliaxis Coronavirus Info Centre (aliaxis.com/corona), our colleagues across the world can discover easily and rapidly how Aliaxis is dealing with COVID-19 and how they can contribute individually.
As a global player, Aliaxis is faced with a variety of situations with regard to COVID-19. We have therefore increased vigilance at all our facilities, with relentless focus on hygiene and social distancing. Access to manufacturing plants and distribution centres is strictly limited, and face-to-face meetings are restricted to a minimum. We have implemented proactive plans to manage dynamically our Operations and respond as closely as possible to market fluctuations. For example, we have temporarily suspended operations at certain facilities in France and in Italy.
Wherever necessary, people are working remotely and leveraging our digital and IT tools to continue operating the business efficiently. We are maintaining a close dialogue with our customers and suppliers, who are facing similar challenges. Our goal is to minimise any disruption to their business, sustain commercial activity as much as possible, and keep them informed at all time. By acting as a partner, we want to strengthen our relationships as we confront the COVID-19 challenge together.
The company is entering this crisis with a healthy financial position and robust committed financing in place. The divestment of a large distribution arm in the US, Harrington, in March, contributed to further strengthening of our balance sheet and to further de-leverage.
Nevertheless, we monitor the situation closely and are taking all necessary contingency measures to make sure we can safely weather the storm in the coming months.
We are preparing a course of action for each plausible scenario and we are ready to respond rapidly. Meanwhile, we thank you for your continued loyalty and trust in Aliaxis, as we confront COVID-19 together.
Yours sincerely,
Laurent Lenoir
CEO