WESTA reports heavy losses in 2013, wants to cut USD 100 mln of its debt

Обзоры по компаниям и отраслям 16.06.2014 Ukraine’s leading car battery producer WESTA ISIC (WES PW) reported USD 95.8 mln in net revenue (-10% yoy) and USD 16.4 mln in EBITDA (2.1x yoy higher) in 2013, according to its annual report released on June 13. The company posted USD 25.8 mln in finance costs and recognized losses of USD 51.5 mln from impairment of equipment purchased for launching a new production facility for VRLA batteries. This resulted in a 2.1x yoy increase in the company’s net loss to USD 67.5 mln for the year. Its equity turned to being negative USD 59.0 mln as of end-2013. WESTA increased its debt by USD 47.3 mln yoy to USD 245.4 mln as of end-2013. According to the report, USD 50.1 mln of total debt was due in 1Q14, and USD 49.2 mln is due in 2Q14-4Q14. The company received commercial claims for debt recovery worth USD 42 mln in 2013. The firm reported it’s still in the process of negotiating debt restructuring. WESTA expects that it will be able to reduce its total debt by up to USD 100 mln in the restructuring process and will prolong the maturity of its debt by 5-7 years. It is also in talks with its main creditor to reorganize its operations. The company has already completed a restructuring that resulted in the resignation of all its B and C directors, leaving a single A director. Alexander Paraschiy: The company’s results are expectedly weak, and it is particularly worrying that WESTA failed to launch its facility to produce VRLA batteries, the project that it promised to implement using money from its IPO. The company’s debt position confirms it’s bankrupt now. The restructuring process that WESTA has initiated is also worrying shareholders. All this confirms our earlier conclusion that there is no investment story left in WESTA.