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I am not suggesting that Kier didn't make a loss during this time, more just an observation that from my perspective Kier / construction didn't have a great need of furlough payments unlike other sectors or businesses.
Do you have the specifics in terms of cost of furlough for Kier?
Kier worked to minimise the amount of staff on furlough throughout the last year. It looked like a lot of construction sites managed to reopen quickly once procedures were put in place to mitigate the risk of transmission. Remember that as construction was deemed essential during the first lock-down sites probably only closed to put in place additional facilities to allow for social distancing and other COVID measures.
It may be worth considering that any cost of furlough would be less than the cost of wages during that time and since, as I understand it, Kier didn't really close down many sites I don't believe there will be any issues with furlough repayments.
Regarding Balfour, is it a possibility they took furlough cash as a precaution and are simply returning money they didn't use? (I have not been following the Balfour, and don't know the specifics of how furlough money was given to big businesses at all so correct me if I'm wrong).
I think it's fair to say, based on your rhetoric, that you are clearly not a potential client.
Can I offer a bit of advice, if you're not interested in working with them, and not invested, this all seems like a lot of unnecessary stress for someone like yourself, in a climate where businesses are currently under a lot of stress surely as a business owner/contract manager(/whichever capacity you work in within the industry) surely you're got enough stress on your plate as it is?
I see what you're saying - the SP does show spikes at the start and end of day - but I don't think KIE is a particularly good share to try and play with like that. I think most people who know the fundamentals of the company and the industry at the moment appreciate that any investment in KIE is long term and trying to spike interest to drive the price up in the short term wouldn't really achieve anything.
I think Kier has a bit of a reputation for taking on poor margin contracts. So until the company manages to show that its recently won contracts will be sufficient to get it back on track and in the right direction I think the SP will remain low. I've been contemplating picking up a few shares before the September update but I don't have complete faith that the company will know how its new contracts will turn out.
It's worth remembering that big construction contracts typically end up being over budget. I know its a poor example with respect to Kier but look how poorly HS2 has turned out with regards to staying on budget. Maybe the SP will only recover once these new contracts have been finished on budget, turning a profit.
I was under the impression construction sites for the most part have stayed open, I've heard of some closing down due to proximity to residential areas but most of them have continued but with social distancing measures in place from my understanding.
I head about this the other day too, it does make me concerned.
I suppose most 'front-line' employees aren't effected as their wage likely falls below the lower pay brackets.
With the government listing infrastructure as an essential business it could become more difficult to understand what to do with sites whilst following the PHE & Gov guidelines. Some customers might postpone work driving down business whilst Kier may feel under pressure to keep staff on due to the gov status of the industry.
Imo, the reality is Kier would've recovered fine if COVID-19 hadn't happened. It would be great to see the government supporting construction & infrastructure companies if its needed going forward, their work is essential but ultimately employee health and safety will come first.
"Mr Gove said all major construction work should go ahead but jobs carried out at close quarters in someone's home would not be appropriate"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52014472
The US literally went from 'The virus is a hoax' to 'no gatherings greater than 10 people' in like a week. Trump is not doing a good job. Note how his policy changed once he realised he was at risk of being infected (and then changed again when he tested negative). He's making policy changes based on his own anxieties and priorities and that is it.
Cindy888 don't even get me started. If you have flu symptoms you're told to stay away from GPs, hospitals etc. but if you look up the testing requirements on the NHS website or ring 111 to get tested you're explicitly told to stay away from hospitals unless you've have been within close contact of a known case or are in serious need of medical attention. It's pretty much not possible to get tested.
Pretty weak budget on details, great outline of proposals but personally I don't think we've heard anything that we've not heard before from government. What i'm trying to say - there's nothing massively surprising here - possible a good time to be holding for a long period over day trading