Obbligazioni societarie Obbligazioni HeidelbergCement AG

[Imark]

Arrivati i risultati di fine anno di HeidelbergCement.

Non sono malvagi, ma la situazione attuale continua a sconsigliare l'investimento in quanto la questione del rifinanziamento del debito per circa 5,6 mld euro in scadenza entro il 2010 sembra lungi dall'aver trovato una soluzione ed il contesto del comprato dei materiali da costruzione e dell'attività edificatoria rimane "challenging".

Peraltro, i rating attuali sono molto bassi, e rifinanziarsi sul mercato nella situazione attuale sembra a dir poco proibitivo.

In realtà HC reputa che per l'andamento dell'attività, dopo un primo semestre molto negativo, la situazione potrebbe migliorare nel secondo semestre dell'anno, per effetto della propria capacità di beneficiare del flusso di ordini atteso nel settore delle opere pubbliche.

Per il 2008, l'utile operativo è cresciuto dell'11% ad oltre 2 mld euro, comprensivi però di proventi generati dalla cessione di asset oltre che dall'acquisto di Hanson. Il valore delle vendite è cresciuto del 30% a quota 14,2 mld euro.

La società prevede di poter dismettere una serie di asset non strategici e sostiene per tramite del CEO di essere in contatto con una serie di terze parti che sarebbero interessate ad investire nel business.

HeidelbergCement to Finish Finance Overhaul Mid-Year (Update3)

By Sheenagh Matthews
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- HeidelbergCement AG, the cement maker owned by the German billionaire Merckle family, aims to conclude a financial overhaul by mid-year and said it is selling businesses and searching for investors.

Parties have shown a “lively interest” in investing in the Heidelberg-based company, Chief Executive Officer Bernd Scheifele said today on a conference call. Assets outside the main areas of cement, aggregates and concrete will be sold over the next two to three years, the company said.
The suicide of main shareholder Adolf Merckle last month threw fresh doubt over the company’s future as his family struggles with debt.

HeidelbergCement inflated its borrowings in 2007 through the purchase of Hanson Plc for $11.5 billion. The cement maker has no credit relationship with the family’s indebted VEM Vermoegensverwaltung GmbH investment vehicle, which holds a 25 percent stake, Scheifele reiterated today.

Marc Nettelbeck, a Frankfurt-based analyst at DZ Bank AG disagreed that there was no link to VEM in a note to investors today. Banks will want to know HeidelbergCement’s investor base is stable before investing, he said. Nettelbeck rates the stock “sell.”

The cement maker has lost 61 percent in Frankfurt trading in the past six months, cutting it’s market value to 3.89 billion euros. The stock fell 1.2 percent to 30.73 euros. The company is facing 5.6 billion euros ($7.2 billion) in bonds and loans coming due in 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Government Orders

Heidelberg expects sales and operating profit to drop this year, it said today. The first six months will be difficult, though business may pick up in the second half as the company aims to win orders from government economic programs designed to stimulate economies through increased infrastructure spending.

Full-year operating profit gained about 11 percent to more than 2 billion euros, boosted by asset sales and the purchase of Hanson. Sales increased 30 percent to 14.2 billion euros. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted earnings of 2.06 billion euros on sales of 14.6 billion euros.

HeidelbergCement expects to find buyers for assets including steel and concrete piping units, the CEO said today. The company has taken steps to sell lime businesses in Germany, it said.

The financial reorganization is aimed at strengthening the equity capital base in a sustainable way, the building-materials supplier said. The CEO today declined to give details about which investors the company is courting. HeidelbergCement is looking for possible investors in Asia and in southwest Germany, Handelsblatt reported on Jan. 28, without saying where it got the information.

Moody’s Investors Service today downgraded HeidelbergCement’s rating to B1 from Ba3 and put the company on review for a further cut. The downgrade, which affects 3.3 billion euros of debt, was prompted by continued uncertainty on refinancing and concerns that 2009 will be a challenging year for business, it said.

Merckle had suffered from wrong-way bets on Volkswagen AG shares and a drop in the value of HeidelbergCement’s stock, leading him into talks with about 30 creditor banks over his holdings spanning the machinery and drug industries.

 

[Imark]

Già che ci siamo, il commento alla credit rating action di Moody's fornisce una serie di spunti interessanti, soprattutto sulle clausole, altrimenti non facilmente conoscibili, che regolano i rapporti fra HC e le banche sui finanziamenti erogati.

E queste informazioni enfatizzano il rischio che un accordo abbia un duplice effetto sui bond. Se infatti per un verso il mancato default di HC potrebbe in linea terorica giovare ai corsi dei titoli, per il verso opposto risulta a Moody's che le pattuizioni nei loans con le banche consentirebbero a queste, in talune circostanze, di vedere il proprio credito, al momento unsecured, passare a secured, con conseguente riduzione del rating del debito obbligazionario di HC, i cui detentori si vedrebbero "passare avanti" le banche nell'infausta ipotesi in cui dovesse cmq sopravvenire un default.

Moody's rileva anche come siano in corso trattative fra HC e potenziali nuovi azionisti nonché fra HC e le banche per una modifica dei covenant riguardanti i finanziamenti accordati, solo che il prossimo covenant test è al prossimo 30 giugno, dunque molto ravvicinato.

La mancanza di notizie che lascino supporre un nuovo accordo incrementano il rischio che a metà anno si vada ad una ristrutturazione del debito.

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Moody's downgrades HeidelbergCement's corporate family rating to B1, on review for further downgrade[/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Approximately €3.3 bn of debt instruments affected [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Frankfurt, February 09, 2009 -- Moody's Investors Service has today downgraded HeidelbergCement's corporate family and issue ratings to B1 from Ba3. The ratings have been put on review for further downgrade. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]The rating action was prompted by continued uncertainty with regards to HeidelbergCement's refinancing options and concerns that 2009 might be a challenging year for the company's performance given the expected weakness of the economic environment. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]At the same time the rating continues to incorporate that HC is a world class building materials company with a solid business profile based on diversified global footprint and good historical profitability, which should allow the company to generate significant free cash-flow when the economy turns around. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Moody's notes that HC has already started negotiations with potential new shareholders as well as with its banks to improve the company's capital structure and to extend the intermediate term maturities together with a change in the covenant levels under its loan agreements.[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]However, since the negotiations have yet to lead to concrete results and given that the next covenant test is only a few months away per 30 June 2009 the risks related to a restructuring for HeidelbergCement are continuously increasing. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Should HC successfully attract sufficient new equity and receive agreement from its banks to amend the covenant structure and extend the tenor of its major credit agreements, the rating could be confirmed or reversed depending on the degree of rehabilitation and cushion in the amended financial structure. Absent of a clear remedy materially HC is exposed to increasing short-term liquidity risks given the high likelihood of a breach of its covenants per mid 2009. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]The majority of HC's debt is at the holding company level and all debt in the capital structure is currently senior unsecured. The legacy Hanson debt is guaranteed by HC and the debt-issuing entities at Hanson are providing upstream guarantees in favour of HC, thus seeking to equalize the position of the Hanson bonds with other senior unsecured debts issued by HC.[/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Moody's understands that the bond documentation might allow bank lenders under certain conditions to be secured by assets or upstream guarantees without triggering negative pledge clauses. Therefore a subordination of the bonds might -- according to Moody's LGD methodology -- lead to a differential of up to two notches to the assigned corporate family rating should the company's banks successfully strengthen their security package. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Given the weakness of the end markets for building materials and the size of the debt service requirement, HC's ability to generate positive free cash flows in the current financial year is viewed as limited despite the introduction of economic stimulus packages in several of the regions in which HC is active, namely the US, the UK and Germany. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Positive effects from these packages, which predominantly include investments in infrastructure and education, are only expected very late in 2009 and during 2010. Moody's also notes that in the past public construction, such as infrastructure construction, has only accounted for around 35% of the company's turnover, hence, any positive effects may be dampened should economic growth remain subdued for a longer period than expected. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]The rating also takes into account continued uncertainties at the Merckle group, which is also exposed to liquidity and leverage concerns but the direct risks and uncertainties relating to these vehicles are excluded. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Downgrades: [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]..Issuer: Hanson Australia Funding Limited [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Downgraded to B1 from Ba3 [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]..Issuer: Hanson Building Materials Limited [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Downgraded to B1 from Ba3 [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]..Issuer: Hanson Limited [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Downgraded to B1 from Ba3 [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]..Issuer: HeidelbergCement AG [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Probability of Default Rating, Downgraded to B1 from Ba3 [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Corporate Family Rating, Downgraded to B1 from Ba3 [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program, Downgraded to B1 from Ba3 [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]..Issuer: Heidelbergcement Finance B.V. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program, Downgraded to B1 from Ba3 [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Downgraded to B1 from Ba3 [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Outlook Actions: [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]..Issuer: Hanson Australia Funding Limited [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Outlook, Changed To Rating Under Review From Negative [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]..Issuer: Hanson Building Materials Limited [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Outlook, Changed To Rating Under Review From Negative [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]..Issuer: Hanson Limited [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Outlook, Changed To Rating Under Review From Negative [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]..Issuer: HeidelbergCement AG [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Outlook, Changed To Rating Under Review From Negative [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]..Issuer: Heidelbergcement Finance B.V. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]....Outlook, Changed To Rating Under Review From Negative [/FONT]


[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Moody's last rating action on HeidelbergCement on 03 December 2008 was to downgrade the company's ratings to Ba3 with a negative outlook . [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]HeidelbergCement AG is the world's third-largest cement producer. HC generated sales of EUR13,8 billion per last 12 months (September 2008). With the acquisition of UK building materials producer Hanson plc in mid-2007, HC is now the world's largest producer of aggregates with an annual output in 2007 of 334 mt, and the second-largest producer of ready-mixed concrete with an output of 46 million cubic meters, behind Cemex. [/FONT]

 

[Imark]

Quando penso a quello che Paologorgo ha scritto in un altro 3D in merito a società che hanno bond a 50 perché vanno incontro nel breve a problemi di rifinanziamento del debito, o affrontano cmq situazioni di difficoltà contingente ma possono vantare la capacità di generare flussi di cassa significativi, per cui non è detto che non si rivelino un buon affare ove tali situazioni si andassero a risolvere, mi viene in mente per certi versi HC.

Se difatti la società fosse acquistata da qualcuno con spalle finanziarie non del tutto gracili (si era menzionato un interessamento, fra gli altri, di Goldman Sachs), ed essere messa in condizione di rifinanziarsi mentre va a deleveraggiare nel prossimo biennio, i suoi bond potrebbero rivelarsi un buon investimento.

Le incertezze del momento fanno sì che io per primo non ne abbia fatto nulla, se non seguire quanto accade.

La famiglia Merckle, dopo il suicidio del capofamiglia Adolf, nomina un cd. giurista di affari come trustee della holding di investimento VEM, quella che avrebbe dovuto sostenere HC per ridurre il proprio debito e che invece si è ritrovata esposta per oltre 5 mld euro verso le banche per scommesse sbagliate fatte sull'andamento del titolo Volkswagen.

L'incarico del legale è quello assistere la famiglia nella procedura di individuazione di compratori per le società controllate, fra le quali la stessa HC.

Merckles Said Poised to Name Lawyer Goerg VEM Trustee (Update1)

By Aaron Kirchfeld and Sheenagh Matthews

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Germany’s billionaire Merckle family and its creditors are poised to name lawyer Klaus Hubert Goerg as the trustee of the VEM Vermoegensverwaltung GmbH investment holding that is at the center of a rescue effort, four people close to the matter said.

Goerg will help oversee the possible sale of the family’s shares in generic-drug maker Ratiopharm GmbH and cement maker HeidelbergCement AG, said two of the people, who declined to be identified because the information isn’t public. Another person may be named a trustee for drug wholesaler Phoenix Pharmahandel AG and a final decision on the division of responsibilities may be announced as early as today, the people said.

Adolf Merckle, who last month committed suicide at the age of 74, had agreed with about 30 creditor banks on an assessment of his holdings after the lenders agreed to hold off claims on debt. VEM owes banks about 5 billion euros ($6.3 billion) after making wrong-way bets on Volkswagen AG and the value of HeidelbergCement stock declined, people familiar with the situation said last year.

Appointing a trustee is the first step in a plan to sell the Merckles’ HeidelbergCement, Ratiopharm and Phoenix Pharmahandel assets, the people said.

Vivien Kremer, a spokeswoman for Dresden-based VEM, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Attempts to reach Goerg for comment through his firm’s secretary were unsuccessful.

Insolvency Specialist

Goerg, a senior partner of the Essen-based Goerg Partnership of Lawyers, helped guide Philipp Holzmann AG through its first insolvency proceedings in 1999. The German construction company, which went bust after second insolvency proceedings in 2002, was once the country’s biggest builder.

Goerg, who specializes in banking law and commercial transactions as well as insolvency, studied at the universities of Marburg, Munich and Cologne. He was admitted to the bar in 1972 in Cologne, according to the firm’s Web site. Goerg Partnership of Lawyers has more than 150 lawyers.

Merckle, whose estimated $9.2 billion fortune put him 94th on Forbes’s list of the world’s richest people, took his own life in January by stepping in front of a train, “broken” as his companies crumbled under the growing burden of debt, his family said. He had just signed off on a rescue plan that included bridge financing and paved the way for the breakup of a business empire spanning drugs, cement and all-terrain vehicles.

 

[Imark]

Ancora un downgrade da parte di S&P, e HC arriva a livelli infimi dell'HY, con il debito senior unsecured spinto a livello CCC+.

S&P postula che il covenant test fissato per giugno 2009 non sarà superato e che occorrerà pertanto negoziare un waiver, ipotizza che questo sarà ottenuto ma considera arduo ai limiti del praticabile il rifinanziamento da parte di HC delle scadenze debitorie di maggio 2010.

Più remota per l'agenzia la possibilità che HC non riesca a superare indenne la rinegoziazione dei covenant necessitata dal test del giugno prossimo, con la conseguenza che il default occasionerebbe a quella data.

HeidelbergCement Long-Term Rating Lowered To 'B-' And Still On Watch Negative

PARIS (Standard & Poor's) March 6, 2009--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on HeidelbergCement AG to 'B-' from 'B+'. The 'B' short-term corporate credit rating was affirmed. At the same time, the senior unsecured debt ratings were lowered to 'CCC+' from 'B'. All ratings remain on CreditWatch negative where they were placed on Oct. 24, 2008.

Our recovery rating on the senior unsecured bonds issued by HeidelbergCement AG and subsidiaries remains unchanged at '5', indicating our expectation of modest (10%-30%) recovery in the event of a payment default.

"The action reflects our opinion that there is a material risk that a default--according to our criteria definition--could occur by May 2010," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Xavier Buffon.

In our view this risk is nearing as the company faces heavy debt maturities by mid-2010 (including the €5 billion Tranche B of the Hanson acquisition facility), and as we continue to think that end-June 2009 covenants would most likely be violated under existing limits, given the amount of pressure on cash flows we expect to stem from the current highly challenging economic environment.

At this stage, we consider it more likely than not that the company will obtain covenant relaxation from its bank creditors, but we do not exclude that this may not occur.

Whether the company will be able to refinance or extend debt maturities, and under what terms and conditions, is much more uncertain, in our view. In addition, a default by May this year would not be impossible either in our view, as we anticipate modest liquidity headroom in second-quarter 2009, but at this stage we do not see it as a significant risk.

The ratings therefore reflect a material risk of default within a year or so, given risks of breach of covenants at end-June 2009 if the current negotiations fail, heavy debt maturities by mid-2010, reported financial difficulties at HeidelbergCement's controlling shareholder, as well as a highly leveraged financial structure inherited from the mostly debt-financed €14 billion acquisition of Hanson PLC in mid-2007.

We think that the current harsh market environment will impose significant pressure on cash flows this year, which will likely be compounded by the typically heavy working capital outflows in the first half, and seasonal effects. "We intend to closely follow any further developments regarding the debt restructuring process," said Mr. Buffon.

If covenants were not waived, we would consider lowering the rating before June 2009. If covenants were changed and provided enough headroom this year, we would closely follow any progress toward the refinancing of the 2010 maturities, and we could lower the ratings as we came closer to these maturities if they remained untackled.

Any agreement to reschedule maturities would also require close scrutiny as to the terms and conditions before deciding what impact--positive, negative, or none--it would have on the ratings.

 

[Imark]

Bel lavoro del management, che fra taglio dei costi e sospensione degli investimenti riesce a ridurre il debito del 5% in solo trimestre, peraltro il Q4/2008 che nell'edilizia non è stato facile per nessuno.

Il dubbio è che possa servire a qualcosa, e la circostanza è piuttosto improbabile: molto pesanti sono le scadenze debitorie di qui al 2010 ed in deciso deterioramento saranno i risultati del 2009. Resta possibile un default nel 2010.

Soffre e non poco tutto il comparto dei materiali da costruzione ed attività edilizia, da Holcim a Saint Gobain, da Cemex a Lafarge...

HeidelbergCement debt falls, sees weaker 2009
Thu Mar 19, 2009 7:03am EDT

* Net debt 11.6 bln euros end-2008 vs 12.3 bln at Q3
* Says sales, operating earnings to decline in 2009
* Still sees no sign of recovery in cement markets
* Q4 cash flow up 11 pct year on year to about 1 bln euros
* Shares jump more than 6 percent

(Adds background, investments, shares, analyst comment)
By Ludwig Burger

HEIDELBERG, Germany, March 19 (Reuters) - HeidelbergCement's (HEIG.DE) debt burden eased in the fourth quarter but it still sees no recovery in the demand for building materials, the world's fourth-biggest cement maker said on Thursday.

The German company reduced its net debt, initially ballooned by its $16 billion takeover of British builder Hanson in 2007, to 11.6 billion euros ($15.13 billion) at the end of 2008 from 12.3 billion in the third quarter, it said.

The group generated cash flow of about 1 billion euros in the fourth quarter, up 11 percent from last year, as it cut costs and put investments on hold.

The group said it was confident of finding a long-term solution to shore up its shaky finances this year, while the redemption of 5 billion euros in debt looms in mid-2010.

It had previously raised the prospect of finding a solution around the middle of 2009.

Chief Executive Bernd Scheifele in January said he was in talks with new investors to fund a capital increase.

Its shares jumped 6.4 percent to 21.50 euros at 0943 GMT, the leading gainers in Germany's midcap MDAX index .MDAXI, which rose 0.8 percent.

The company said sales and operating earnings were set to decline this year because it still saw no sign of recovery in demand for cement.
"The outlook is very unspecific and not really helpful," DZ Bank analyst Marc Nettelbeck commented.

The German company is not the only major building materials maker struggling with funding. Mexico's Cemex, the world's No. 3 cement maker, said this month it was trying to refinance $14.5 billion of debt and had scrapped a $500 million bond sale.

France's Saint-Gobain (SGOB.PA) and Lafarge (LAFP.PA) each announced 1.5 billion euro rights issues, turning to shareholders to protect them against the fallout from the deteriorating economic conditions.

Government stimulus packages across the globe -- mainly geared towards infrastructure investments -- were likely to have their first impact during the second half, HeidelbergCement reiterated on Thursday.

Tightening its belt further, Heidelberg plans to slash investments 40 percent to 750 million euros this year, falling behind depreciation of plants and equipment, which stood at about 800 million euros last year.

HeidelbergCement is part of the Merckle family empire. Patriarch Adolf Merckle, who was one of the world's richest industrialists, committed suicide in January after losing a fortune on the stock market.

Fitch and Standard & Poor's earlier this month lowered HeidelbergCement's credit ratings further into junk status, with S&P citing a "material risk" that it might default by May 2010. ($1=.7668 euros) (Editing by Mike Nesbit)

 

[Gaudente]

ma vafff.....

Allettato dal fatto che il bond 2018 ha nuovamente toccato il precedente minimo di 40 , ho deciso di consumarmi un po' gli occhi sul bilancio che trovate a questo link http://www.heidelbergcement.com/glo.../financial_publications/financial_reports.htm
Gli inizi parevano promettenti.
Debito netto in calo. Esercizio 2008 in utile nonostante la crisi mondiale dell'ultimo trimestre.
Poi la mazzata a pag.62 del documento pdf : Immobilizzazioni Immateriali 10.151 milioni di euro , oltrepassano addirittura l'equity pari a 8.261 milioni. L'utile di esercizio di 1.808 milioni di euro poi non tiene conto delle differenze di cambio negative direttamente imputate allo stato patrimoniale pari a 1.344 milioni.
Soliti manipolatori del qazzo.
Ma che vadano a cag.....

 

[Imark]

Allettato dal fatto che il bond 2018 ha nuovamente toccato il precedente minimo di 40 , ho deciso di consumarmi un po' gli occhi sul bilancio che trovate a questo link http://www.heidelbergcement.com/glo.../financial_publications/financial_reports.htm
Gli inizi parevano promettenti.
Debito netto in calo. Esercizio 2008 in utile nonostante la crisi mondiale dell'ultimo trimestre.
Poi la mazzata a pag.62 del documento pdf : Immobilizzazioni Immateriali 10.151 milioni di euro , oltrepassano addirittura l'equity pari a 8.261 milioni. L'utile di esercizio di 1.808 milioni di euro poi non tiene conto delle differenze di cambio negative direttamente imputate allo stato patrimoniale pari a 1.344 milioni.
Soliti manipolatori del qazzo.
Ma che vadano a cag.....

Certo che per me, che monitoro molti comparti merceologici ed emittenti e lo faccio senza grande approfondimento dell'analisi di bilancio, l'occhio di Gaudente è davvero una risorsa preziosa... grazie per il condividerne i risultati con tutti, con la consueta generosità ...

 

[Imark]

Sulla scorta delle incerte prospettive nella rinegoziazione degli accordi con le banche circa il debito, S&P tiene il rating di HC sotto osservazione per un ulteriore downgrade, sebbene per ora ci sia una buona notizia costituita dal rifinanziamento accordato per un loan in scadenza dell'importo di 600 mln euro. Ma insomma, qui c'erano gli elementi per farcela.

Il prossimo passo è ottenere un waiver sui covenant del debito in verifica al giugno 2009 e poi ci sono le trattative sulle pesanti scadenze di metà 2010. Un percorso irto di ostacoli, insomma, in cui il rischio dell'inciampo resta molto elevato, e sarebbe default.

Germany's HeidelbergCement AG 'B'-/B' Ratings Still On CreditWatch Negative Re Uncertain Outcome Of Debt Restructuring

PARIS (Standard & Poor's) May 15, 2009--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it its 'B-/B' long- and short-term corporate credit ratings on Germany-based heavy remain unchanged and are still on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they had originally been placed on Oct. 24, 2008.

The 'CCC+' senior unsecured debt ratings also remain unchanged. The recovery rating on the senior unsecured bonds issued by HeidelbergCement and its subsidiaries remains unchanged at '5', indicating our expectation of modest (10%-30%) recovery in the event of a payment default.

"Our decision follows HeidelbergCement's announcement yesterday that it had completed the refinancing of a €600 million loan, a first step in the company's debt restructuring process," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Xavier Buffon.

We understand the process ultimately aims to: Reset financial covenants to prevent a breach at end-June 2009; and Refinance the bulk of the company's bank debt to alleviate liquidity risks stemming from the existence of heavy maturities in May 2010, including the €5 billion Tranche B loan of the Hanson acquisition facility.

We view HeidelbergCement's refinancing of the €600 million Tranche A facility, which matured on May 14, 2009, through the announced new like-amount bridge loan as tantamount to a debt rescheduling. But we think that the terms of the new loan offset the change in maturity. We also think the company was able and willing to repay the Tranche A facility.

We see HeidelbergCement's completion of the first step in the restructuring as somewhat positive. Had the company not completed this step as planned, we would have considered the chances of success in the second phase as even more uncertain. That said, we think the outcome of the second phase of the restructuring process is still highly uncertain, given its much larger scope.

HeidelbergCement is one of the world largest manufacturers and distributors of heavy building materials. We consider that the company's business profile is underpinned by HeidelbergCement's strong cement and aggregates positions in diverse consolidated markets and limited product substitution risks, and that the company is likely to benefit meaningfully from infrastructure stimulus packages launched in markets such as the U.S.

To resolve the CreditWatch placement, we intend to continue following closely any further developments regarding HeidelbergCement's debt restructuring process.

We could lower the ratings on HeidelbergCement in June 2009 if covenants are not waived and/or if debt maturing in May 2010 is not refinanced

 

[lorenzo63]

HeidelbergCement Sells Asphalt Operating Line In Australia

FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--German cement maker HeidelbergCement AG (HEI.XE) said Thursday it has sold its asphalt operating line in Australia to Fulton Hogan.

HeidelbergCement's 50% stake in Pioneer Road Service (PRS) and the whole of Specialised Tanker Transport were acquired by Fulton Hogan, a civil contracting quarrying and asphalt producing company in Australia.

Fulton Hogan has had a business association with PRS for many years. HeidelbergCement will continue to supply aggregates to PRS in the future.

The Australian competition authorities have approved the sale.

The sale took place in the context of the reorganisation of the financing structure of HeidelbergCement. The Group is planning to sell selected non-core business units over the next two to three years in order to further reduce its financial liabilities. These are businesses that fall outside the core activities of cement, aggregates (sand and gravel) and concrete. HeidelbergCement is also looking into the possible sale of activities in regions where it sees no possibility for vertical integration

 

[Imark]

Sulla scorta delle incerte prospettive nella rinegoziazione degli accordi con le banche circa il debito, S&P tiene il rating di HC sotto osservazione per un ulteriore downgrade, sebbene per ora ci sia una buona notizia costituita dal rifinanziamento accordato per un loan in scadenza dell'importo di 600 mln euro. Ma insomma, qui c'erano gli elementi per farcela.

Il prossimo passo è ottenere un waiver sui covenant del debito in verifica al giugno 2009 e poi ci sono le trattative sulle pesanti scadenze di metà 2010. Un percorso irto di ostacoli, insomma, in cui il rischio dell'inciampo resta molto elevato, e sarebbe default.

Germany's HeidelbergCement AG 'B'-/B' Ratings Still On CreditWatch Negative Re Uncertain Outcome Of Debt Restructuring

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Le banche invece hanno finito per fare un passo ulteriore, consentendo a HC di rinegoziare direttamente anche le trance di loans in scadenza nel 2010 a condizioni ovviamente molto diverse da quelle che HC aveva ottenuto in passato, quando aveva comprato Hanson indebitandosi.

Se allora le vari trance di loans erano unsecured e HC pagava alle banche 65 bp sopra l'euribor 3m, oggi paga 4,25 punti % sopra l'euribor, più una fee una tantum dell'1,5% sul valore del loan, e tutto questo a fronte di loans che sono divenuti secured e dunque sono sovraordinati rispetto ai bond circa il soddisfacimento delle pretese creditorie sugli asset di HC in caso di default.

Il nuovo loan scade cmq a dicembre 2011, per cui anche in termini di allungamento delle scadenze sul debito HC guadagna poco tempo in più.

HeidelbergCement $12 Billion-Loan Margin Up Sixfold (Update2)


By Aaron Kirchfeld and Patricia Kuo


June 19 (Bloomberg) -- HeidelbergCement AG, Germany’s biggest cement maker, agreed to a sixfold increase in the interest margin to refinance 8.7 billion euros ($12.1 billion) of loans.

The company will pay 4.25 percentage points more than the euro interbank offered rate for the loan due on Dec. 15, 2011, it said on its Web site today. The Heidelberg-based company paid a commitment fee of 1.5 percent, it said.

HeidelbergCement, which paid a 65 basis-point spread on loans funding its $12 billion takeover of U.K.’s Hanson Plc in 2007, has consolidated debt, cut costs and sold assets to combat the global recession. The suicide of main shareholder Adolf Merckle in January raised doubts about the company’s future.

The company provided a “security package” to lenders including “upstream guarantees of material subsidiaries, share pledges of subsidiaries, cash pool account pledge agreements and a pledge over intra-group loans,” it said in today’s statement.

HeidelbergCement rose 60 cents, or 1.9 percent, to 31.69 euros in Frankfurt, boosting its market value to 3.96 billion euros.

Moody’s downgraded 3.3 billion euros of bonds sold by HeidelbergCement and its subsidiaries today by two levels to B3, six steps below investment grade, citing the company’s “heavy debt burden.” The ratings firm confirmed the company’s B1 grade.

Default Swaps

“The new loan agreement means in case of an insolvency, these new financing facilities have priority over the existing bonds,” Jochen Schlachter, a credit analyst at UniCredit SpA in Munich, said by telephone today. “This is different from the previous agreement, and it is bad for the bondholders.”

Credit-default swaps on HeidelbergCement fell 7.5 basis points to 786, according to CMA DataVision prices at 9:43 a.m. in London. A basis point on a contract protecting 10 million euros of debt from default for five years is equivalent to 1,000 euros a year.

Chief Executive Officer Bernd Scheifele plans to sell assets, cut costs and investment to preserve cash and help pay debt. The company is talking to all types of investors, including public wealth funds and financial as well as family investors, he said in March.

HeidelbergCement spokeswoman Brigitte Fickel today confirmed comments from Scheifele saying he sees first signs of improvement of demand in Asian markets such as China and India after economic stimulus programs.
Credit-default swaps pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities or the cash equivalent should a company fail to adhere to its debt agreements. A decline signals improvement in the perception of credit quality.