POLAND: Rolling stock manufacturer Pesa announced on November 7 that it had signed a 200m złoty loan agreement with a consortium of six banks led by PKO BP and including Bank Pekao, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Raiffeisen Bank, BZ WBK and mBank.
This is intended to alleviate the company’s recent cash flow problems. The next step will be a corporate restructure. Pesa expects to reach an agreement by the end of March with an external investor which would provide a further 200m to 400m złoty.
Pesa said its financial problems had resulted from several factors. These included the early termination of its contract to supply Fokstrot trams to Moscow, owing to the customer’s inability to pay, and an expected order for 10 additional Dart electric multiple-units from PKP Intercity not materialising. Furthermore, the company has had to carry out a larger than usual number of repairs under warranty.
The Bydgoszcz-based supplier also noted that it had invested 500m złoty in research and development over the past five years, and 130m złoty into the production and certification of Link diesel multiple-units for DB.
‘The loan granted will allow Pesa to execute contracts and acquire new orders’, said Pesa CEO Robert Świechowicz. ‘The next phase ahead of us is the restructuring and further talks with investors. All this is to ensure Pesa’s stable development.’
