(Alliance News) - Shares in Yu Group PLC fell on Monday as the firm noted the existence of "a level of material uncertainty" which could possibly cast doubt on the group's ability to continue as a going concern.
Shares in the gas, electricity and water supplier were 14% lower at 58.06 pence on Monday in London.
For the year, Yu Group posted a pretax loss of GBP6.0 million, narrowed from GBP9.6 million the year before, on revenue that increased by 38% to GBP111.6 million from GBP80.6 million.
Contracted revenue at the end of December, however, dropped to GBP79.5 million from GBP88 million the same date the prior year, based on the estimated usage of customers.
Yu Group declared no final dividend for 2019, or an interim dividend, compared to an interim payout of 1.2p per share made in 2018.
Looking ahead, the group said it has been assessing the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the business, and expects a reduction in revenue as a result of lower demand from customers across the UK, as well as a drop in sales bookings due to changing customer priorities.
"The directors believe that it remains appropriate to prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis. However in view of the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, and the risks it may pose to the group, together with the essentially unpredictable and constantly evolving nature of the pandemic, the directors have decided to formally note the existence of a level of material uncertainty which may potentially cast doubt on the group's future ability to continue as a going concern," said Yu Group.
Nonetheless, Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kalar said the group continues to be "confident in the medium and long term market opportunities".
"Looking forward, we expect revenue, bad debt, operating cashflow to be impacted, as well as temporary reduced sales growth. However, the group is in a more robust position than previously, with significantly improving margins on the contracts we have booked," Kalar added.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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Yu Energy (YU.)