The COVID-19 situation has, also into the first months of 2021, continued to
negatively affect the societies in the Nordic countries and set the terms for
SATS ASA's ("the Company") operations. As per 9 April, 139 of the 253 clubs are
closed, of which 27 in Finland, 82 in Norway and 30 in Denmark. The open clubs
in Norway, Sweden and Finland are operated with strong infection control
measures.
The pandemic and consequent club closures have significant negative financial
effects for the Company. SATS has been in close dialogue with the banks
throughout the entire pandemic period, and in July 2020, an addendum to the RCF
agreement was successfully negotiated.
As the closures have continued to be prolonged, the Company has now, as a part
of the continuous financial planning, signed a new addendum to the RCF agreement
with the banks, temporarily waiving the original covenants. New financial
covenants will come into force and will be applicable to and including 30
September 2022, subject to voluntary cancellation by SATS at any time. The new
financial covenants set out quarterly minimum levels for liquidity and Adjusted
EBITDA, with the latter entering into force from Q4 2021. SATS will not
distribute any dividend to the shareholders during the amendment period and
shall be compliant with the original covenants once the amendment period is
expired.
The Company is well positioned for future growth. The megatrend around health
and well-being has been strengthened by the pandemic. SATS has accelerated the
club expansion with 30 new club openings in 2020 and 2021. The Company expects
the member growth to be strong when reopening the currently closed clubs and
will return to the healthy financials proven prior to the pandemic once the
member base is back to pre-COVID-19 levels. In addition, the Company has proven
a very strong digital growth during the past twelve months and has also been
accelerating the digital investments in order to further strengthen the product
offering.
Investor Relations:
Cecilie Elde, Chief Financial Officer, phone: +47 924 14 195
Stine Klund, Finance and Investor Relations Manager, phone: +47 986 99 259
Press:
Anne Flæte, Press Contact, phone: +47 932 56 295
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU
Market Abuse Regulation, and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant
to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. The stock exchange
announcement was published by Stine Klund, Finance and Investor Relations
Manager, SATS ASA.
