MATRIX SERVICE COMPANY PROVIDES OPERATIONS UPDATE AND BUSINESS RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

TULSA, Okla., April 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Matrix Service Company (Nasdaq: MTRX) (“Matrix” or “the Company”), a leading contractor to energy and power markets across North America, today provided an update regarding the Company’s operations and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the reduction in crude oil demand.

“Our first priority during this unprecedented event is the health and safety of our employees,” said Matrix Service Company President and CEO John R. Hewitt. “We are proud of how our employees have stepped up to the challenge and remained focused on our business priorities while doing their part to limit the spread of COVID-19. While there is uncertainty around the duration of the impact of the pandemic, we all share the responsibility of following the recommended CDC precautions to help shorten the timeline. As such, our office workforce has effectively transitioned to a remote working environment facilitated by the strategic technology investment made by the business over the past couple of years. Further, we have implemented new processes which we believe will ensure our crews on job sites are safe, adhering to our client’s expectations, and to CDC guidelines.

"Although we have experienced some delays in project work, we are confident that our strong financial position, focus on maintaining our balance sheet strength, disciplined cash allocation, and the actions we are taking to reduce expenses, will allow Matrix to not only persevere in this environment but also emerge focused and well positioned to pursue growth opportunities.”

Operational Update

The services we provide are essential, and work on most of the Company’s projects is continuing. There have been some project delays and temporary suspensions of work, including work in our refinery turnaround and maintenance operations and as well as disruptions on a few other projects across the business. Most of these changes are the result of an abundance of COVID-19 precautions being taken by us and our clients, and to a lesser degree, the reduced crude oil demand environment. In most cases, the revenue volumes are moving out in time from a few weeks to quarters, but not going away. We are working with our clients as they consider how they will modify their capital and maintenance spending plans, which is impacting the quantity and timing of near-term new project awards and starts. With that said, we are in advanced stages of proposals and final negotiations for several significant projects principally in our Storage Solutions segment. One of these projects is an EPC LNG peak shaving terminal for which we have recently received a letter of intent as we work through final contracting details. This project is a similar facility to the Piedmont Natural Gas project we announced last year which is currently under construction. This again demonstrates our client’s confidence in us as well as our strength and project delivery capability in this essential and critical part of the small to mid-scale LNG energy market. As we move to our fiscal 2021 in July of this year, we are carefully assessing our backlog of projects, and ensuring we remain flexible as we review market opportunities available to us across our segments, adjusting our priorities and capital allocation accordingly.