Saudi Cable recommends 65.92% capital cut, inks deal to reduce debt

Saudi Cable Co.’s board of directors has recommended a 65.92 percent capital reduction to SAR 259 million from SAR 760 million, to offset accumulated losses, the company said in a statement on Tadawul on Wednesday.

The company will cancel 50.1 million shares from its current 76 million shares, the statement said, adding that the capital reduction is still subject to regulatory approvals and will not have an impact on Saudi Cable’s liabilities.

Should the firm’s extraordinary general assembly approve the reduction, it will be enforced on all current shareholders registered at the Securities Depository Centre at the end of the approval date.

Saudi Cable’s board of directors recommended a capital cut on April 17 as accumulated losses reached SAR 515.5 million, representing 67.8 percent of its capital.

The company said its losses spiked on losses generated from operations, as well as a provision against development costs of accessories and high-voltage cable segments in Saudi Arabia and Turkey. It also wrote off goodwill in the company’s investment at Turkish subsidiary.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, Saudi Cable said it had signed a deal with a creditor to cut its debt from current SAR 141.9 million.

Under this agreement, the company will pay SAR 51 million, of which SAR 11 million will serve as a refundable guarantee against an outstanding loan and an issued letter of guarantee.

Meanwhile, the cable producer will be immediately exempted by the creditor from paying SAR 77 million of the outstanding debt.

Saudi Cable will be also exempted from repaying the remaining amount of SAR 24.9 million upon providing additional cash collateral anticipated to be made before June 2019, the firm added.

Financial impact from the debt reduction is expected to show in Q2 2017, and the impact of the waiver of remaining SAR 24.9 million debt in Q1 2018.