Eurotunnel plc restructured its debt last month, a move which should see borrowing cut by 10%. Shareholders could see dividends paid on shares by 2006.
Buying back existing debt at a discount, financed by the proceeds of new long-term financing, enabled Eurotunnel to cut its debt by US$704.68M. Interest charges will be reduced by US$55.3M this year, US$31.6M in 2003, and by an estimated US$47.4M per annum from 2006 onwards. Eurotunnel also issued US$1.17bn fixed rate bonds at the beginning of July, repayable from 2026 to 2028.
Finance director, Roger Burge, said that the company would be ‘close to cashflow breakeven in 2002.’
