APRIL may alter debt repayment

APRIL may alter debt repayment

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Pulp and paper company Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL) said on Thursday it was in talks with its creditors to modify its US$1.3 billion debt repayment because of price declines of its products.

APRIL said in response to Reuters query that its subsidiaries were negotiating with lenders to modify cash flow assumptions and intended repayment obligation due to product price falls.

The Singapore-based, New York-listed company declined to give details on the progress of its talks with creditors, but said they were "constructive".

APRIL's main assets include PT Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper in Indonesia, operating a pulp mill with annual capacity of 1.3 million tons.

The group, which also has a stationery plant in Suzhou, China, had stopped servicing its principal repayment since March.

It was seeking a modification of principal repayment and interest rates in line with forecast cash flows as its previously agreed debt restructuring agreements failed to anticipate sharp declines in its product pricing.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2001, APRIL recorded a net loss of US$25.5 million on revenues of US$160.7 million, compared with a profit of US$21.7 million on US$141.3 million revenues in the same period last year.

Its profit was hit by falls in the average realized prices for its pulp and uncoated woodfree paper.

APRIL had also been warned by the New York Stock Exchange that its shares have fallen below the continued listing criteria requiring an average price of at least one dollar.

The NYSE has the right to suspend from trading and delist shares that do not meet continued listing criterion.

Its shares dropped 7.35 percent at US$0.63 on Wednesday.

Another troubled Indonesian-linked group with $12 billion debt is Asia Pulp & Paper, which is in the process of restructuring its massive debt burden.