Displaying items by tag: Debts
Trinidad & Tobago: According to chairman Wilfred Espinet, director Nigel Edwards and new chief executive Jose Luis Seijo, Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL) has repaid all of its previous lenders.
"TCL has been able to secure the funds to repay those lenders from short term loans in the amount of US$245m, together with cash from its recent Rights Issue and cash generated from operations," said Espinet. The company has also secured a nine-month loan facility from Citibank and Credit Suisse at an initial rate of libor plus 6.25% (a current effective interest rate of 6.53%), subject to a quarterly increase of 1% if it is still in issue.
In the coming weeks, TCL, Credit Suisse and Citibank intend to approach local and international markets to secure longer-term financing that will bring TCL to the final stage of the reorganisation of the capital structure. Some of the expected immediate benefits from the refinancing are a debt reduction from prepayment of previous lenders of US$31m, a reduction in financing costs in the form of quarterly interest savings of up to US$1.7m and a stronger balance sheet.
Jose Luis Seijo was named as TCL's new chief executive officer effective from 4 May 2015. Previously, Seijo has worked with Mexico's Cemex. Seijo's focus will be on value creation for the company and its stakeholders. "The TCL Group has huge potential. My immediate job is to tap into all our resources-essentially to mobilise the skills of our workforce against a backdrop of improved operational efficiencies and prudent investments to ensure a sustainable future," said Seijo. Former CEO Rollin Bertrand was dismissed by the TCL board in September 2014.
PPC to slow expansion as debt rises
24 April 2015South Africa: PPC will slow its international expansion due to rising debts, says chief executive officer Darryll Castle. The South African cement producer is building cement plants in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe, Algeria and Mozambique in order to generate 40% of its sales outside its home market by 2017. However, spending on these projects is pushing up its debt levels and Chief Executive Officer Darryll Castle said PPC's debt would likely hit as much as US$982m in the next two years and possibly breach agreed covenants with banks, according to Reuters.
"We wouldn't want to stretch our balance too much. The focus currently is on existing projects," said Castle. He added that PPC was in talks with banks about changing the agreed debt covenants to reflect the fact that some of the debt was ring-fenced from the South African balance sheet.
Belarus government to repay cement companies’ debts to China
07 January 2015Belarus: The Belarusian government will acquire additional stakes in three cement companies in exchange for helping them to repay loans to China's Eximbank. The Council of Ministers has issued a directive that provides for restructuring the overdue debts incurred by Belarusian Cement Plant, Krychawtsementnashyfer and Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly as of 1 October 2014.
The three cement producers will receive the bailout on condition that they meet their profitability of sales targets for 2015 and fulfil their obligations to Eximbank starting 2015. Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly, Belarusian Cement Plant and Krychawtsementnashyfer owe US$34.4m, US$43.7m and US$50.6m to the Chinese bank, respectively, in overdue loan payments.
Mika Cement stops production until 2015
12 November 2014Armenia: Mika Cement has stopped production at its cement plant until February 2015. It reported to local media that it had produced the necessary volume of cement for sales and had now stopped for annual technical work. The company also said that it had paid the bulk of wage arrears and that the remaining debt will be paid before the end of 2014.
"The company repaid the biggest part of the arrears of wages to workers. In the period of the plant's suspension, the workers will be receiving salary in line with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia," said Mika Cement's press office.
Previously plant director Naira Martirosyan told Arminfo that the plant would produce 100,000t of cement by the end of 2014. The plant resumed production in September 2014 when salary and electric debts were settled. Production volumes at Mika Cement declined following the global economic recession in 2009. Although the company didn't publish financial results in 2013 its debt rose to over US$5.5m in 2012.
Lafarge to sell 53% Mexican joint venture stake to Elementia
22 September 2014Mexico: Lafarge has announced plans to sell its 47% stake in its Mexican cement business to Mexico's Elementia SA de CV for US$225m in cash. Lafarge and Elementia operate three cement plants in Mexico, with the former owning 53% of their joint venture. The transaction is pending regulatory clearance and has to fulfil a number of customary closing conditions. Lafarge said that the proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce the company's net debt.
CPV outlines debt refinancing plan
10 September 2014Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas (CPV) has released a statement outlining its plans to refinance Euro969m of debt. In the short term, CPV is struggling to keep on top of maturing debt and has released a statement confirming that it has received the unanimous agreement of all of its creditors to extend the maturity of Euro50m of debt from 30 June 2014 to 30 September 2014.
Cemex negotiating refinancing deal
04 September 2014Mexico: Cemex has announced that it is negotiating with a number of banks in order to refinance part of its outstanding bank debt as it seeks to further lower financial costs and extend its debt maturity.
In a regulatory filing ahead of a possible private bond placement, Cemex said it is in advanced talks with a group of banks aimed at reaching a new agreement by the end of October 2014. Proceeds would be used to refinance part of an existing financing agreement with banks.
Cemex refinanced around US$15bn in bank debt during the 2009 global crisis and in 2012, with around half of the amount left to pay, agreed to reschedule some US$6bn in 2014 principal payments to 2017. Cemex has since lowered that further and owes around US$4.3bn under the agreement, which is due in 2017.
Cemex said the current talks with banks are part of its strategy to improve its financial flexibility and lower its overall debt costs. Company officials said recently that Cemex's main priority is to recover the investment-grade ratings that it lost during the 2009 crisis.
India: Jaiprakash Associates plans to sell US$1.66bn worth of assets by 2015 to cut its debt, after divesting assets totalling US$2.46bn in the six months that ended on 31 March 2014.
Jaiprakash Associates plans to sell a thermal power plant, a cement plant, some of its real estate assets and a part of its stake in the Yamuna Expressway. It plans to exit its cement joint venture with Steel Authority of India Ltd in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh and is in talks with Aditya Birla Group's Ultratech Cement Ltd. Jaiprakash Associates holds a 74% stake in the 2.2Mt/yr capacity cement plant.
A Jaiprakash Associates executive said that the current financial year will see more asset sales, which will ease pressure from banks to repay borrowings. Since September 2013, Jaiprakash Associates has sold assets valued at US$2.46bn, meeting its debt-reduction target for the fiscal year that ended on 31 March 31 2014.
Tajikistan: Tojikcement, Tajikistan's largest cement plant, has been accused of failing to replay US$2.5m to the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation (EGAP), a Czech state-owned credit insurance company. However, the Tajikistan Ministry of Energy and Industries has announced that a Chinese firm has started preparations for a major upgrade costing US$7.73m.
Hana Hikelova, chair of the EGAP PR department, made the accusation and has been quoted by Asia Plus news agency. According to Hikelova, EGAP in insured a loan provided by the Czech Export Bank to Tojikcement for modernisation of the Dushanbe cement plant in 2006. According to a statement released by the Czech Embassy in Tashkent in February 2013, "The main problem of further development of Czech exports is the unsettled debt of Tojikcement."
Meanwhile, on 10 May 2013 the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI) Secretariat announced that Beijing Uni-Construction Group had started preparations works at Tojikcement, to install a coal-fired rotary kiln. Eleven Chinese specialists are reportedly working in the plant in Dushanbe. The coal-firing kiln is expected to be delivered to Dushanbe in mid-June 2013 and the installation work is expected to be completed by mid-September 2013, an official source at a MoEI said. The total cost of the upgrade is US$7.73m, with US$150,000 provided by Tojikcement and the remainder by Beijing Uni-Construction Group.
Tojikcement, which has a cement production capacity of 1.1Mt/yr, is the largest cement producer in Tajikistan. The plant has not been operational since the beginning of 2013 due to a lack of natural gas supplies. Currently there are five cement plants operational in Tajikistan with a combined cement capacity of 1.3Mt/yr. In 2012, Tajikistan produced 235,000t, including 203,000t produced by Tojikcement.
Pembani secures controlling stake in AfriSam
03 April 2013South Africa: Pembani Group, an investment holding company, has become the controlling shareholder of South Africa's second-biggest cement producer, AfriSam, by way of a debt restructuring process. Following a debt restructuring process the Government Employees Pension Fund will hold about 57% of the company and Pembani 38%.
"The company's balance sheet was significantly strengthened by an overall debt reduction in excess of US$1.62bn. A consortium of local financial institutions provided the company with a sustainable long-term debt solution," said AfriSam CEO Stephan Olivier.
AfriSam was severely burdened by debt created by a leveraged buyout in 2007. It nearly defaulted on its debts in 2011. In 2012, all the relevant stakeholders agreed to a consensual restructuring of the debt, whereby the government Employees Pension Fund and Pembani Group injected significant equity into the business and Pembani would exercise strategic control over AfriSam's board.