Asturiana de Laminados, the company that owns the elZinc brand, is on the brink of the abyss. KPMG, the firm that has audited the results of the first half of the year, has signed the accounts with qualifications, questioning the balance sheet and placing the company on the verge of dissolution.
The auditor concludes that the company’s property, plant and equipment is overvalued by 18.7 million euros, which would cause a loss for the year greater than that published by the company. Asturiana declares losses of 30.2 million, but according to KPMG the negative result actually rises to 49 million euros, which leaves the company’s net worth at a negative figure of 7.5 million, placing the company on the verge of dissolution. KPMG further believes that there is material uncertainty that “raises significant doubts about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
Asturiana de Laminados, controlled by businessman Macario Fernández and which has presented its accounts two months late, also declares a 22% drop in income compared to the first half of the previous year. The turnover has thus gone from 59.4 to 46.3 million euros. , The negative result recognized by the company is conditioned in part by the recorded impairment of 29 million euros, of which 11 million come from the participation in Latem Aluminum, which was forced to paralyze its factory project in Villabrázaro, in the province of Zamora.
The company has a net financial debt of 99.2 million euros and faces a maturity of 31.2 million on June 30 of this year.. But, in addition, as of June 30, 2024, the company had debts with credit institutions that were due and unpaid for an amount of 7.5 million, of which 4.9 million were guarantees executed by its main zinc supplier, Glencore. . The bondholders have granted a waiber or exempts the company by deferring the payment of interest from the December 2024 coupon to August 2, 2027, also approving to modify the maturity date of the bonds initially set on August 2, 2027, until August 2, 2032.
All this despite the fact that Macario Fernández, the president of the group, has granted himself a loan for a total amount of 18.6 million to finance the contributions to the company’s capital that he had to make. He did it through investment companies that do not have treasury or investments that generate cash, so there is doubt in the sector that he can repay these debts.
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