Moser Baer plans to restructure over Rs 1,800-cr term debt

CFO says restructuring may strengthen the company's abilities to leverage future opportunities

Solar cell maker Moser Baer plans to restructure over Rs 1,800 crore of its term debt as the company looks to strengthen its abilities to leverage future opportunities in the growing sector.

"We are looking at restructuring over Rs 1,800 crore of term debt that the company has through Corporate Debt Restructuring programme. This is almost half of the total Rs 3,500 crore debt," Moser Baer Group CFO Yogesh Mathur said.

Restructuring is seen as an ideal solution to strengthen the company's abilities to leverage future opportunities, he added.

He cited a McKinsey report which suggests the solar industry is likely to install an additional 400-600 GW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity between now and 2020 globally.

Though the global demand for solar power is still high, the growth is expected to be flat this year.

Rapidly falling prices of solar panels and components has also impacted the profitability of solar cell makers, with companies like Solar Millennium and Solon SE filing for bankruptcy.

Moser Baer is also in discussions with banks for refinancing its outstanding Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (about $88.5 million as nominal value).

"The restructuring is happening by realigning it with Moser Baer India Ltd's cash flows," he said.

Banks are positive about the company's future plans and Moser Baer is looking forward to speedy completion of the debt restructuring and thereafter, to consolidate business and cash flows, Mathur added.

The company narrowed its loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 to Rs 59.60 crore from a loss of Rs 131.20 crore in the same quarter last year.

Total income from operations increased to Rs 462.33 crore in the reported quarter from Rs 458.95 crore in the year-ago period.

The company is bullish on the solar industry as the global PV market is forecast to witness substantial growth on account of higher installations anticipated in key markets such as the US, Germany and China.

The industry witnessed a 76% year-on-year growth in PV installations during 2011, as per a EPIA - Global Market Outlook 2016 report.