By Robin van Daalen
AMSTERDAM--Technical services provider Royal Imtech NV (>> ROYAL IMTECH) Tuesday announced a 600 million euro ($791.9 million) rights issue and the sale of its ICT business as the ailing company tries to ease its debt burden, as it reported a widening net loss for the second quarter of the year.
The Dutch company, which got into trouble after irregularities in its accounts emerged last year, said the net loss for the second quarter was EUR224.2 million, compared to EUR170.9 million in the same period a year earlier. A write-down on the value of its ICT business and financing costs that almost doubled weighed on results, while revenue fell and its operational result improved slightly.
Revenue fell by 15.4% to EUR1.1 billion, from EUR1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2013.
To pay down part of its net debt of EUR1.04 billion, Imtech Tuesday announced the sale of its ICT business to France's Vinci SA (>> VINCI) for an enterprise value of EUR255 million, a fully underwritten rights issue of EUR600 million and an amendment of its financing agreements, including a covenant holiday until the end of 2016.
"The first half of 2014 has been difficult for the company due to market conditions and the uncertainty around our financial position. Management and employees can now focus fully on improvement of operational results and the completion of the turnaround program," Chief Executive Officer Gerard van de Aast said.
Imtech ran into trouble after problems emerged with the construction of a theme park in Poland last year. It then discovered irregularities in its accounts in Germany and Poland, for which it blamed local management, which was replaced by the previous board. The chief executive officer and chief financial officer were later replaced and new management has since been struggling to get the company back on solid footing, despite an earlier round of refinancing and restructuring measures.
The Gouda-based company didn't provide an outlook for the remainder of the year, but said the turmoil and uncertainty among stakeholders regarding its financial position could have an impact on the operational performance in the second half of the year. The company will launch further restructuring measures in the second half of the year to improve its operational performance.
Write to Robin van Daalen at robin.vandaalen@wsj.com
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