CFO says India's Suzlon out of the woods post refinancing

Indian wind turbine maker Suzlon Ltd (BOM:532667) has achieved a significantly healthier balance sheet following the refinancing of its debt in late May and is yet to see the full impact of the transaction on its finance cost, according to chief financial officer Himanshu Mody.

After years of carrying a large debt load, the company concluded its refinancing towards the end of May 2022, replacing its 16 lenders with two new ones, namely REC Ltd and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA).

Last week, Suzlon released its financial results for the first quarter of the fiscal year through March 2023, reporting a pre-tax profit of INR 70 million (USD 878,000/EUR 854,000) on revenue of INR 13.78 billion, up by 21% on the year. Thanks to a one-off gain, Suzlon saw its bottom line swing to a INR-24.33-billion net profit. A presentation shows that on June 30, 2022, the group’s net debt had been reduced by more than 50%, pursuant to the conversion of financial instruments.

"Our balance sheet looks much healthier, however, since our refinancing exercise was completed towards the end of May 2022, the full impact of the same on the finance cost will be seen from the Q2 of FY23," Mody said in a statement last Wednesday.

Later, Suzlon’s finance head told the Press Trust of India (PTI) that the group’s financial woes are behind it. According to him, scheduled debt repayments will cut debt levels to INR 25 billion and the company will seek to reduce this amount even further.

Mody also told the PTI that the company has board clearance to raise up to INR 12 billion through a rights issue by the end of the fiscal year. Some non-core assets will be sold as well.

At the end of June, Suzlon’s firm order book stood at 692.4 MW, most of which was secured in central and state auctions.

(INR 10 = USD 0.125/EUR 0.122)

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