The TGV M presented at the Alstom Belfort factory, Monday April 29, 2024 (AFP/FREDERICK FLORIN)
The railway manufacturer Alstom clarified on Wednesday how it intended to implement its 2 billion euro debt reduction plan, a key step in moving forward after a difficult period.
The group unveiled on Wednesday the two financial instruments it intends to use: a capital increase of nearly one billion euros and a “hybrid” bond issue of around 750 million euros. The latter has the characteristic of being accounted for half as the company’s equity, so it allows it to strengthen its balance sheet.
With asset sales worth around 700 million already announced, the group has now “defined” its entire plan.
Its difficulties also have a social cost since the manufacturer has already announced the elimination of around 1,500 administrative positions worldwide, including around 300 in France.
Alstom is having difficulty digesting the Bombardier Transport group, purchased at the start of 2021, and had also suffered recently from the implementation of certain contracts.
A sign that this legacy still weighs, the group more than doubled its net loss for the 2023/24 fiscal year, to 309 million euros compared to 132 million euros a year earlier, under the effect of a certain number of exceptional charges (restructuring and integration costs, litigation, etc.), according to its results published on Wednesday.
“Alstom is doing better. The company is today engaged in a new stage of its recovery, launched several months ago and of which we are seeing the first signs with our results”, promises however in Le Figaro on Wednesday its CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge, which will soon cede the presidency of the group.
© 2024 AFP
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