Suzlon Energy Ltd shares tumbled as much as 8.6% in intraday trade on Wednesday, i.e. 17 July, after the wind turbine maker on Tuesday defaulted on a payment of $172 million worth of principal amount related to outstanding bonds.
At 11:48 am, shares of Suzlon were trading at Rs 4.50, down 3.2%, on BSE after hitting an intra-day low of Rs 4.25. The stock has fallen over 35% in the last one year.
Suzlon Energy said in a statement: “The company has not made the payment of the principal amount of the outstanding bonds, being $172,000,000 (about Rs 1,180 crore), which was due on July 16, 2019, (Tuesday) in accordance with the terms and conditions of the bonds.”
The outstanding principal amount was part of a bond issue of $546.91 million.
Suzlon added that it was working on a holistic solution for its debt problems and continues to be in discussions with various stakeholders in relation to its outstanding loans, including the bonds.
Last month, some media reports said that Suzlon had told its lenders that Canadian investor Brookfield was keen to acquire a majority stake in the company, which would help it settle its loans if the lenders were to give a waiver.
As of March, Suzlon had already defaulted in repayment of principal and interest to lenders worth Rs 412 crore towards term loans and working capital facilities.
Suzlon has net term debt, including FCCBs, of Rs 7,761 crore, and working capital debt of Rs 3,380 crore. In the March quarter, the company managed to narrow its loss to Rs 294.64 crore from Rs 469.85 crore a year ago, mainly due to lower expenses.
Source: News18