Return of Government furlough fund

RNS Number : 2844V

RWS Holdings PLC

06 August 2020

 

For immediate release   6 August 2020

RWS Holdings plc

Return of Government furlough funds

RWS Holdings plc ("RWS", "the Group"), one of the world's leading language, intellectual property support services and localization providers, today provides an update on operations and on the returning of funds received from the UK government in relation to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the "CJRS"), under which a small number of employees were furloughed during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The safety and wellbeing of staff worldwide remains the Group's priority. All divisions have remained fully operational during the pandemic, having moved to working from home successfully, supported by steps taken by the Group to maintain wellbeing, effectiveness and engagement.

RWS is pleased to confirm that its head office in the UK, its offices in China and in the Czech Republic have now reopened, albeit staff continue to have the flexibility to work from home as required. The Group's other offices remain closed at present and the business is establishing a timeline and procedures for reopening them in line with the relevant Government guidance.

During the onset of Covid-19 in the UK, RWS furloughed a small number of employees who were unable to continue their duties while the offices were closed.  Due to the significant uncertainties at the time, RWS took the precautionary step of applying for the CJRS. However, given the ongoing trading performance of the Group, RWS has taken the decision to repay the monies previously received and will make no further claims under the scheme.

As previously announced in its Half Year Results, the Group has continued to see limited impact from Covid-19 on customer demand, while cash generation and liquidity have continued to be strong.  The Board remains confident of the resilience and strength of the Group's balance sheet and its future prospects.  This confidence was reflected in the recent acquisitions, announced on 8 June 2020, of Iconic Translation Machines, Ltd and Webdunia.com (India) Private Limited for an initial cash consideration of US$31.0m, and the Board's approval of an interim dividend of 1.75p per share, maintained at the same level as in 2019.

 

For further information, please contact:

RWS Holdings plc Andrew Brode, Chairman Richard Thompson, Chief Executive Officer Des Glass, Chief Financial Officer	01753 480796
MHP (Financial PR advisor) Katie Hunt / Simon Hockridge	[e-mail] 0203 128 8100
Numis (Nomad & Joint Broker) Stuart Skinner / Kevin Cruickshank / Will Baunton	0207 260 1000
Berenberg (Joint Broker) Ben Wright / Toby Flaux / Alix Mecklenburg-Solodkoff	0203 207 7800

About RWS

RWS is the world's leading provider of intellectual property support services (patent translations, international patent filing solutions and searches), a market leader in life sciences translations and linguistic validation, a leading localization provider, and a high-level specialist language service provider in other technical areas, providing for the diverse needs of a blue-chip multinational client base spanning Europe, North America and Asia.

RWS is based in the UK, with offices across five continents. The company is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L).

For further information, please visit: www.rws.com.

 

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