Duro Felguera S A : applies for 100 million Euros in temporary public support

Duro Felguera applies for 100 million Euros in temporary public support

As of today the Company has sent in the application for the temporary public support from the Strategic Company Solvency Support Fund for an amount of 100 million Euros, through a participative loan of 70 million Euros and a capital increase of 30 million Euros, both transactions to be subscribed by SEPI

The financial restructuring process will also require the refinancing of the existing syndicated debt, the granting of a new liquidity line with the guarantee of ICO and a bond line covered by CESCE

The application also includes the strategic plan for the period 2020-2025, with which the company intends to focus more on the areas of renewable energies and smart systems, while maintaining its most profitable traditional businesses

Friday, 28 August 2020. Duro Felguera, a Spanish company specializing in the delivery of turnkey projects and the provision of specialized services in the energy, mining & handling and oil & gas sectors, has applied for temporary public support from the Strategic Company Solvency Support Fund for a total amount of 100 million Euros.

The application contemplates the following instruments, in accordance with current regulations:

• A Participative Loan granted by the State Company of Industrial Participations (SEPI in Spanish) for 70 million Euros.
• A Capital Increase subscribed by SEPI for 30 million Euros.

This temporary public support is part of the company's global financial restructuring process, which also includes the refinancing of the current syndicated debt, the granting of a new liquidity line with the guarantee of the Official Credit Institute (ICO in Spanish) and a bond line covered by the Spanish Company for Export Credit Insurance (CESCE in Spanish), currently under negotiation. These operations are compatible with the incorporation of new investors.

The chairwoman of Duro Felguera, Roza Aza, said, 'Our goal is to obtain the necessary support to maintain Duro Felguera as we know it, but focused on its most profitable activities and taking advantage of all its experience to grow in new business niches. Our intention is to lay the foundations of a new innovative Duro Felguera, capable of changing its centre of activity back towards the needs that are currently arising in the market'.

The company, which is strategic, especially in Asturias, where it boasts a significant economic and social contribution, provides 2,483 direct, indirect and induced jobs. In addition, it carries out essential activities, as has been shown during the state of alarm for the pandemic.

This financial plan is fundamental in order to develop the business and investment strategy foreseen in the Strategic Plan, focused on strengthening the Group's traditional businesses and its growth in the renewable energy and smart systems industries.

PROFITABLE TRADITIONAL BUSINESS

Duro Felguera has successfully developed a wide range of traditional businesses that can ensure healthy profitability, such as the assembly, maintenance and disassembly of thermal power plants, pressure vessel projects, the manufacture of tanks and spheres, and mining and handling projects.

GREEN ENERGY

The company has already made progress in setting up a new subsidiary specializing in renewable energies, DF Green Tech. In order to develop this, the company is working on the extension of the workshop located in the Port of Gijón, which will therefore be able to start manufacturing structures for offshore wind farms.

In addition, the plan includes the positioning of the company in projects and services in the fields of solar thermal energy, biomass and renewable H2.

SMART SYSTEMS

Duro Felguera already has a subsidiary called EPICOM, a national leader in encrypted communication, and is working in parallel to set up another subsidiary to provide this knowledge and experience in the civil field. Key sectors, such as energy, telecommunications and finance, increasingly require this kind of support, in addition to logistics, where it is becoming increasingly necessary in the process of automating industrial warehouses.