Grupa Azoty announced that on February 2, 2024, on behalf of itself and the companies of the Grupa Azoty Capital Group that are parties to the relevant financing agreements, it had concluded an agreement with 13 institutions financing the Grupa Azoty Group. The announcement mentioned: Powszechna Kasa Oszczedności Bank Polski SA, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, ING Bank Śląski SA, Santander Bank Polska SA, Caixabank SA Branch in Poland, BNP Paribas Faktoring sp. z o. o., ING Commercial Finance Polska SA, Pekao Faktoring sp. z o. o., BNP Paribas Bank Polska SA, Santander Factoring sp. z o. o. and Banco Santander SA, Branch in Frankfurt and also with European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and European Investment Bank.
“The conclusion of the agreement ensures that the limits under the Financing Agreements will be maintained and that financing institutions will not take actions aimed at canceling or reducing the available limits of the Financing Agreements, as well as not using certain rights arising from the Financing Agreements in connection with their violation or potential violation during the validity period.” agreement concluded for the period until February 27, 2024,” the information stated.
Restructuring plan of the Azoty Group
“The above will enable the development of a long-term restructuring plan for the Azoty Group. The agreement, with the consent of the Financing Institutions, may be further extended,” the statement explained.
It was noted that at the same time, Grupa Azoty undertook to provide specific documents to financing institutions, introduce certain restrictions on making decisions regarding planned investments, granting sureties or guarantees and incurring financial liabilities, as well as to appoint a financial advisor for financing institutions.
“The Issuer fulfills all obligations related to the servicing and repayment of liabilities under the Financing Agreements on an ongoing basis, and the available limits of these agreements ensure liquidity and security of financing of the Azoty Group and its liabilities to suppliers, as well as business continuity,” it was emphasized.
In another announcement, it was reported that it had received from Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd., the general contractor of the Polimery Police project, a proposal to amend the contract for the comprehensive implementation of this project of May 11, 2019.
“The proposed change concerns the extension of the completion date of the Polimery Police project by an additional 95 days beyond the 166 days indicated in the information on the General Contractor’s commencement of the procedure for amending the EPC Agreement extending the project completion date published in current report No. 52/2023 of November 13, 2023 and increasing the remuneration for General Contractor for the amount of EUR 39,772,455,” it was written in the announcement.
The general contractor indicated that the basis for applying for an extension of the project implementation time and an increase in remuneration are events related to individual parts of the project that occurred in 2023 and 2024 and, in the general contractor’s opinion, resulted in the inability to carry out the commissioning stage of the installation in order to achieve its assumed guaranteed parameters.
Grupa Azoty noted that in accordance with the turnkey EPC contract, the general contractor is responsible for performing all works at each stage of the project, such as obtaining appropriate permits, ordering and delivering equipment and materials, construction works, acceptance and commissioning.
“The proposal to amend the EPC Agreement will be subject to a thorough analysis and verification of its validity in the light of the provisions of the EPC Agreement, in accordance with the procedure provided for in the EPC Agreement, and other agreements connecting the Subsidiary with the General Contractor, as well as the factual circumstances,” it added.
As he says Grupa Azoty, the company is one of the “key” capital groups in the fertilizer and chemical industry in Europe. It ranks second in the European Union in the production of nitrogen and compound fertilizers. Grupa Azoty is the only melamine producer in Poland. It also produces products such as polyamide, OXO alcohols, plasticizers and titanium white. (PAP)
