The bosses of Balfour Beatty have agreed to take a 20% reduction in their salaries due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis.
The group’s chair, executive directors, non-executive directors and its executive committee will all take a reduction in their salaries.
The news came as the contractor announced that it was postponing its annual general meeting, scheduled for 14 May, as well as postponing its final dividend to shareholders.
Balfour said it was in a “strong financial position” and had enjoyed a strong start to 2020 but that the events related to coronavirus had cause “significant disruption to the global economy”. As at 25 March 2020, the group had £395m of net cash and £375m of undrawn facilities.
“At this stage, it is not possible to forecast either the duration of this disruption or its impact on the group’s financial results for 2020. Balfour Beatty will provide further updates on its trading performance as and when appropriate,” it said.
In the meantime, the group said its focus was on the health and wellbeing of its employees. Its UK sites will remain operational where practical to implement the standard operating procedure (SOP) issues on 24 March by the Construction Leadership Council. In the US, it is adhering to regulations on a state-by-state basis, while in Hong Kong, operations are following local government guidance.
