Paris-based distribution company Metrologie International SA reckons it will post a group net loss of around $103m for 1991. The company, which is 20%-owned by Cie Financiere de Paribas, through a combination of direct and indirect stakes, has also launched a restructuring programme. It says the loss estimate follows a rigorous review of the company’s accounting methods. The firm’s shares remain suspended on the Paris Bourse at 54.45 francs ($10.07). The restructuring plan, Dow Jones reports, features a $13.9m capital increase as soon as the 1991 financial accounts are completed. And creditor banks have agreed to a reorganisation of $142.4m in loans outstanding to Metrologie. The banks have agreed to forgive $30.5m, with a clause stipulating that repayments may be in order if the French firm’s cash flow improves. In addition, creditors will subscribe to $13.9m of warrants, issued at a unit price equivalent to $11.56, which can be exercised over five years at $3.70 per Metrologie share, at the rate of one share for one warrant. Banks can also replace their warrant share with additional debt forgiveness. A group of existing loans of $20.3m will be converted into a 10-year subordinated loan with a five-year repayment within a maximum period of five and a half years, which takes into account the company’s ability to pay. Metrologie said the plan will raise equity and quasi-equity by $78.6m, swinging it into the black by $43.8m. On the balance sheet, Metrologie said long-term financing including equity will amount to $104m, while short-term financial debt will be under $46.2m. In terms of profitability, the French distribution company said it will save just under $8m a year on interest payments.
