Cairo – Mubasher: Orascom Development Egypt (ORHD) announced signing an agreement to restructure loans worth EGP 3.8 billion in a bid to reinforce its financial position.
Under the deal, Orascom will pay EGP 325 million out of total EGP 650 million, while the remaining amount will be paid by the end of June, according to a filing to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) on Thursday.
The Egyptian firm has reached an agreement with lenders to reduce interest rate on foreign-currency loans by 100 basis points (bps) which will lead to slashing the cost of borrowing to 9.3% from 10.5%.
This agreement will save the company interest payment of EGP 70 million in 2019 and a total of 320 million from 2019 to 2024.
The deal includes restructuring the remaining installments in line with the company's cash flows without amending the loan payment schedule, the company added.
During the first quarter of 2019, the Egyptian firm’s consolidated profits amounted to EGP 111.33 million, compared to EGP 83.08 million in the year-ago period.
Year-on-year, revenues grew to EGP 837.64 million in the three-month period ended 31 March from EGP 654.91 million.
As for standalone business, Orascom Development turned to a profit of EGP 27.48 million in Q1-19, against losses of EGP 45.9 million in Q1-18.
