Neo Industrial (OMXH: NEO1V) announced that two of its group companies in the now defunct Viscose segment have filed for bankruptcy. Avilon Fibres Ltd was touted as a big hope for the future as one of the world leaders in viscose fibre manufacturing that has been expected to grow due to tighter fire safety requirements. Its parents firm Carbatec has also filed today. Neo Industrial does not expect any immediate cash flow effects and aims to clarify balance sheet items as soon as possible. Its Cable segment is not in any way tied to the said companies.
Avilon first went through a restructuring where its debt was cut noticeably. Now those cuts will revert back to former state, which should mean a multi-million Euro item on the parent company. Neo Industrial blames lower energy remarkably lower energy costs that its competitors mainly in China enjoy. That has kept viscose market price depressed and looks set to continue to do so. The company invested heavily on niche product development but has been unable to commercialize those innovations. Neo Industrial acquired the segment from Kuitu Finland Oy, which was bankrupt as well. Its 150 employees had already been laid off since 2011.
Showing posts with label Neo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Neo. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Friday, 29 June 2012
Neo Industrial writes down Finndomo, Avilon restructuring approved
Neo Industrial’s (OMXH: NEO1V) Single Family Housing adventure ends with a final 6.4 million Euro write-off on the share of Finndomo Ltd in Q2 2012 accounts. The company said that Finndomo’s liquidity situation hasn’t improved in spite of extensive saving measures. The unit is under corporate restructuring and Sonkajärvi factory business has been sold to Omatalo Ltd, which already had a nice backlog over there. Neo Industrial is trying to find a solution for Hartola and Haukipudas factories.
Viscose-fibre segment subsidiary Avilon Ltd’s restructuring program draft has been accepted by Pirkanmaa District Court. Debts will be cut by 10.3 million Euros, which will be shown as income while 4.2 million of debt will be converted into Avilon shares. It was not mentioned, how large a percentage this means although you could try to gauge it from the fact that altogether 14.5 million of Avilon debt is scrapped while on Neo Industrial’s book the balance sheet is strengthened by 12.6 million Euros . Avilon is left with just 12,3 million in debt, 8.1 million of which will be settled with a 10 year repayment period and the remainder with the original 20-year plan.
Neo Industrial says this secures future operations and says that investments project in antimicrobial fibre manufacturing will be carried on during the summer. The company however says that viscose lines will be re-launched only after necessary qualifications, product-mix and yes, financing, have been secured.
Viscose-fibre segment subsidiary Avilon Ltd’s restructuring program draft has been accepted by Pirkanmaa District Court. Debts will be cut by 10.3 million Euros, which will be shown as income while 4.2 million of debt will be converted into Avilon shares. It was not mentioned, how large a percentage this means although you could try to gauge it from the fact that altogether 14.5 million of Avilon debt is scrapped while on Neo Industrial’s book the balance sheet is strengthened by 12.6 million Euros . Avilon is left with just 12,3 million in debt, 8.1 million of which will be settled with a 10 year repayment period and the remainder with the original 20-year plan.
Neo Industrial says this secures future operations and says that investments project in antimicrobial fibre manufacturing will be carried on during the summer. The company however says that viscose lines will be re-launched only after necessary qualifications, product-mix and yes, financing, have been secured.
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Finndomo seeks corporate restructuring
Largest Nordic prefabricated single family house maker Finndomo has applied for corporate restructuring due to liquidity concerns. Neo Industrial (HSE: NEO1V) acquired 30% of Finndomo in 2010. Just last year Neo, together with other major shareholder Ilkka Brotherus, had to inject more capital. Finndomo said that perpetually loss-making Swedish operations, which were divested last year, are ultimately to blame for the troubles. The company had been negotiating on a short-term financing arrangement that fell through in the final stretch.
Finndomo is an associated company for Neo Industrial and makes its Single Family Housing business unit. This is the second of the three business arms of Neo Industrial to seek corporate restructuring within a few months, following Avilon of the Viscose Fibre segment down that path. Both of these acquititions were done in 2010. The Cable segment which has been in house longer is faring better although it too just concluded co-determination negotiations.
Judging by the amount of negative releases just this month, Neo Industrial looks like a company in crisis. Just a week ago it warned that 2011 profit will be below earlier guidance. It pushed back Q4 2011 accounts release date today from this Friday to February 28th. Avilon Ltd’s restructuring also has a new deadline date. The stock shed 3.7% today.
The current order backlog of 250 houses is considerably below normal levels. Some bad press of mould problems that few houses were experiencing surfaced couple years ago but company has maintained it has not affected business. Compensation matters on those issues are mostly pending. Neo Industrial says that the objective of the process is to secure continuity of industrial manufacturing of prefabricated single family houses in Finland. Finndomo more directly states that this process will secure just that.
Finndomo has four production facilities in Finland and some 200 employees at the moment, a number that has come down by a mile from its peak. It has had various corporate and private owners during its 70 year history. Production facilities are located all over Finland in Sonkajärvi, Loviisa, Haukipudas and Hartola.
Finndomo is an associated company for Neo Industrial and makes its Single Family Housing business unit. This is the second of the three business arms of Neo Industrial to seek corporate restructuring within a few months, following Avilon of the Viscose Fibre segment down that path. Both of these acquititions were done in 2010. The Cable segment which has been in house longer is faring better although it too just concluded co-determination negotiations.
Judging by the amount of negative releases just this month, Neo Industrial looks like a company in crisis. Just a week ago it warned that 2011 profit will be below earlier guidance. It pushed back Q4 2011 accounts release date today from this Friday to February 28th. Avilon Ltd’s restructuring also has a new deadline date. The stock shed 3.7% today.
The current order backlog of 250 houses is considerably below normal levels. Some bad press of mould problems that few houses were experiencing surfaced couple years ago but company has maintained it has not affected business. Compensation matters on those issues are mostly pending. Neo Industrial says that the objective of the process is to secure continuity of industrial manufacturing of prefabricated single family houses in Finland. Finndomo more directly states that this process will secure just that.
Finndomo has four production facilities in Finland and some 200 employees at the moment, a number that has come down by a mile from its peak. It has had various corporate and private owners during its 70 year history. Production facilities are located all over Finland in Sonkajärvi, Loviisa, Haukipudas and Hartola.
Sunday, 25 December 2011
Christmas storm Dagmar to disrupt traffic in Nordic countries
Hurricane force winds are starting to be felt in Norway and Sweden as Dagmar-storm has made landfall. Wind gusts up to 45 meters per second have been measured on the Norwegian coastline. Ships working the oil rigs have had to withstand 20 meter waves. Several flights and cruises between Norway and Denmark have been cancelled. Motorists are advised to wait out the storm before hitting the roads. Storm warning is in effect for this evening and night.
Class 2 warnings are in place in Sweden with Norrland considered as the area most at risk. Swedish Transport Administration Trafikverket said that all rail traffic to and from Norrland will be stopped from 8 PM local time on Sunday onwards. Round about 10 trains north of Gävle should be affected. Conditions in Sweden are also expected to improve for Boxing day.
In Finland Dagmar is expected to bother Christmas return traffic on Monday. The storm is still expected to be near peak-strength when it hits Finland, with up to 30 meters per second wind gusts. Highest winds on land are expected from early morning until early afternoon on the 26th. In addition to traffic hazards, power cuts are to be expected.
Some industries may reap some positives out of this include cable companies (such as those owned by Neo Industrial (HSE: NEO1V)), which can expect the trend to move electric cables underground to gain speed and pulp & paper companies, which have reported sluggish timber sales and will now have plenty of timber available, although usually they do not make large economic gains from storm-felled trees.
***MONDAY MORNING UPDATE***
Dagmar has caused major damage in Norway. Maximum gusts measured were 55.8 M/s (over 200 km/h, strong category 3 hurricane strength). Plenty of property damages are being reported and tanker BW Thames was in big trouble. Dagmar appears to be among the five worst hurricanes in the last 30 years to strike Norway. Early estimates of damages are in hundreds of millions as situation is now becoming clear. So far no casualties have been reported. 170 000 people are without electricity in Sweden and over 70 000 Fortum (OMX: FUM1V) and 30 000 Vattenfall customers are blacked out in Finland with worst yet to come there.
***MONDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE***
Travel is still severely affected in Norway, Sweden and Finland as trees have fallen on roads. Officials are recommending people to delay driving back from Christmas holidays if possible. Hundreds of thousands of people are without electricity. Repairs may take days in some cases. Hurricane force winds were felt in parts of Sweden and even in Finland maximum sustained winds of 28.5 m/s with gusts up to 35 m/s were measured on land. Another, albeit considerably weaker, storm is predicted to follow in Dagmar's wake tomorrow.
***MONDAY EVENING UPDATE***
A new storm has reached Norway, making repair efforts more challenging. There may be plenty of loose objects lying around after Dagmar and they may cause danger when flying around. Insurance claims from Berit, another large storm that only recently struck Norway, are estimated at 275 million NOK by Finance Norway (Finansnæringens Fellesorganisasjon, FNO) and the claims from Dagmar are expected to be higher.
Train travel is still severely affected as trees have damaged overhead electricity lines. Over 100 000 people in Norway, 150 000 people in Sweden and 200 000 people in Finland are currently without electricity. An elderly man died in Finland as a tree fell on top of him. In Finland the storm has been named Tapani.
***WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE***
Cato-storm followed Dagmar and caused further damage. Worries of potential landslides in Norway caused further anxiety. Estonia recommended people to store some water, if their water delivery is handled by electric pumps. People living outside residential areas can expect several days without electricity. Tuesday's storm was surprisingly strong particularly in Eastern Finland and in Ostrobothnia with 25 m/s gusts. A lot more people lost electricity as a result. Insurance companies have started to receive a lot of claims. Depending on the coverage of the insurance, even spoiled freezer food may be covered.
The amount of trees felled is so significant, that timber trade will be affected for a lenghty period. For example in South Norrland, Sweden, some forests may have a hard time recovering from the toll. Forestry vehicle companies and outdoor power products companies such as Husqvarna (OMX: HUSQ B), Ponsse( (OMXH:PON1V) and Kesla (OMXH: KELAS) can expect a spike in sales.
As an example from the damages that electricity companies will suffer, nearly 200 000 Fortum customers were without electricity at some point in Finland. If the cuts extend beyond 12 hours, electricity companies needs to compensate in bulk-transfer costs. Fortum did not comment on costs incurred as a result of the storms.
***UPDATE ON JANUARY 5***
Fortum did give an estimate of the damages after all this morning, saying the widespread power outages and grid damages will cost Fortum approximately 35 million in Finland and 10 million in Sweden. Vattenfall estimates 11 million in storm-related losses in Finland, with 5 million out of those as standard compensation to customers for power failures lasting over 12 hours, 1 million for voluntary compensation based on promises to customers for power cuts between 6 and 12 hours and 5 million for power grid repairs.
Federation of Finnish Financial Services estimated based on initial data that insurance companies will be compensating up to 70 million Euros worth of damages from the Christmas storms, with 40% of those costs stemming from damages to forest owners.
Class 2 warnings are in place in Sweden with Norrland considered as the area most at risk. Swedish Transport Administration Trafikverket said that all rail traffic to and from Norrland will be stopped from 8 PM local time on Sunday onwards. Round about 10 trains north of Gävle should be affected. Conditions in Sweden are also expected to improve for Boxing day.
In Finland Dagmar is expected to bother Christmas return traffic on Monday. The storm is still expected to be near peak-strength when it hits Finland, with up to 30 meters per second wind gusts. Highest winds on land are expected from early morning until early afternoon on the 26th. In addition to traffic hazards, power cuts are to be expected.
Some industries may reap some positives out of this include cable companies (such as those owned by Neo Industrial (HSE: NEO1V)), which can expect the trend to move electric cables underground to gain speed and pulp & paper companies, which have reported sluggish timber sales and will now have plenty of timber available, although usually they do not make large economic gains from storm-felled trees.
***MONDAY MORNING UPDATE***
Dagmar has caused major damage in Norway. Maximum gusts measured were 55.8 M/s (over 200 km/h, strong category 3 hurricane strength). Plenty of property damages are being reported and tanker BW Thames was in big trouble. Dagmar appears to be among the five worst hurricanes in the last 30 years to strike Norway. Early estimates of damages are in hundreds of millions as situation is now becoming clear. So far no casualties have been reported. 170 000 people are without electricity in Sweden and over 70 000 Fortum (OMX: FUM1V) and 30 000 Vattenfall customers are blacked out in Finland with worst yet to come there.
***MONDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE***
Travel is still severely affected in Norway, Sweden and Finland as trees have fallen on roads. Officials are recommending people to delay driving back from Christmas holidays if possible. Hundreds of thousands of people are without electricity. Repairs may take days in some cases. Hurricane force winds were felt in parts of Sweden and even in Finland maximum sustained winds of 28.5 m/s with gusts up to 35 m/s were measured on land. Another, albeit considerably weaker, storm is predicted to follow in Dagmar's wake tomorrow.
***MONDAY EVENING UPDATE***
A new storm has reached Norway, making repair efforts more challenging. There may be plenty of loose objects lying around after Dagmar and they may cause danger when flying around. Insurance claims from Berit, another large storm that only recently struck Norway, are estimated at 275 million NOK by Finance Norway (Finansnæringens Fellesorganisasjon, FNO) and the claims from Dagmar are expected to be higher.
Train travel is still severely affected as trees have damaged overhead electricity lines. Over 100 000 people in Norway, 150 000 people in Sweden and 200 000 people in Finland are currently without electricity. An elderly man died in Finland as a tree fell on top of him. In Finland the storm has been named Tapani.
***WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE***
Cato-storm followed Dagmar and caused further damage. Worries of potential landslides in Norway caused further anxiety. Estonia recommended people to store some water, if their water delivery is handled by electric pumps. People living outside residential areas can expect several days without electricity. Tuesday's storm was surprisingly strong particularly in Eastern Finland and in Ostrobothnia with 25 m/s gusts. A lot more people lost electricity as a result. Insurance companies have started to receive a lot of claims. Depending on the coverage of the insurance, even spoiled freezer food may be covered.
The amount of trees felled is so significant, that timber trade will be affected for a lenghty period. For example in South Norrland, Sweden, some forests may have a hard time recovering from the toll. Forestry vehicle companies and outdoor power products companies such as Husqvarna (OMX: HUSQ B), Ponsse( (OMXH:PON1V) and Kesla (OMXH: KELAS) can expect a spike in sales.
As an example from the damages that electricity companies will suffer, nearly 200 000 Fortum customers were without electricity at some point in Finland. If the cuts extend beyond 12 hours, electricity companies needs to compensate in bulk-transfer costs. Fortum did not comment on costs incurred as a result of the storms.
***UPDATE ON JANUARY 5***
Fortum did give an estimate of the damages after all this morning, saying the widespread power outages and grid damages will cost Fortum approximately 35 million in Finland and 10 million in Sweden. Vattenfall estimates 11 million in storm-related losses in Finland, with 5 million out of those as standard compensation to customers for power failures lasting over 12 hours, 1 million for voluntary compensation based on promises to customers for power cuts between 6 and 12 hours and 5 million for power grid repairs.
Federation of Finnish Financial Services estimated based on initial data that insurance companies will be compensating up to 70 million Euros worth of damages from the Christmas storms, with 40% of those costs stemming from damages to forest owners.
Thursday, 8 September 2011
Neo Industrial's Avilon seeks corporate restructuring
Avilon Ltd, a part of Neo Industrial’s(HSE: NEO1V) Viscose Fibre business has applied for corporate restructuring on Wednesday. Tough liquidity situation, something that was alluded to before when Neo Industrial said Avilon is temporarily shutting down, is given as the reason. Back then Neo Industrial was hoping for sales out of existing stock to ease the situation but now says they have been less than expected.
Neo Industrial continues to argue that long-term prospects for Avilon are promising. USA is the main market for Avilon’s fire-retardant fibre and continued housing market weakness there causes problems for the company. The negotiations concerning Avilon’s technology related business are supposedly progressing ”well” and may have a material impact on Avilon’s fiscal situation.
Neo Industrial continues to argue that long-term prospects for Avilon are promising. USA is the main market for Avilon’s fire-retardant fibre and continued housing market weakness there causes problems for the company. The negotiations concerning Avilon’s technology related business are supposedly progressing ”well” and may have a material impact on Avilon’s fiscal situation.
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Avilon to temporarily shut down as viscose fibre market hits a wall
Neo Industrial (HSE: NEO1V) announced it is temporarily shutting down production in its viscose fibres factory Avilon Ltd in Valkeakoski, Finland. The reason given is poor global market situation that is not only seasonal fluctuation but also a result of overheating. Stock levels are particularly high in China, which is the largest market for viscose fibre. The price has sunk nearly 30% in two months.
Avilon says it has stock to last until the end of Q3 and sales of those will generate revenue. The recovery of viscose fibre business is currently uncertain, whilst there is better visibility on fire retardant fibre. Neo Industrial has relatively tight short term liquidity. Only recently the company said that viscose fibre business had turned profitable.
Avilon says that commercializing the new innovation of converting paper pulp into dissolving pulp, that Neo Industrial made public in May, is going according to plan. The entire staff of Avilon has been given a 90 day temporary layoff notice. Neo Industrial is a Finnish industrial owner with current investments also in cable and single family housing businesses.
Avilon says it has stock to last until the end of Q3 and sales of those will generate revenue. The recovery of viscose fibre business is currently uncertain, whilst there is better visibility on fire retardant fibre. Neo Industrial has relatively tight short term liquidity. Only recently the company said that viscose fibre business had turned profitable.
Avilon says that commercializing the new innovation of converting paper pulp into dissolving pulp, that Neo Industrial made public in May, is going according to plan. The entire staff of Avilon has been given a 90 day temporary layoff notice. Neo Industrial is a Finnish industrial owner with current investments also in cable and single family housing businesses.
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