Correspondence
Back to Correspondence[copy of letter sent to Hellaby Holdings Limited]
27th May 2009
Hellaby Holdings Limited.
Level 5, Viaduct Harbour Ave,
Auckland.
Attention the Chairman, Bill Falconer
Dear Bill,
I recently completed an analysis of the published financial statements for 47 public companies for the June 2008 or equivalent year end from a banking perspective. Obviously with the public default of Nuplex and the disclosure by them of critical banking covenants, debt has become an issue that the market should be concerned about.
Of those 47 companies 20 were, based on the knowledge that we now have of banking covenants, on the face of it in debt difficulties. Your company was likely to be one of those companies. Clearly each company has differing covenants, and you certainly were not outside the guidelines on all of the common benchmarks, and some actually demonstrated some strength.
However by the time we have published 2009 data, if EBITDA or EBIT decline while debt remains at current levels you may well face difficulties. Equally if your assets suffer impairment right downs you may well find yourself constrained by equity.
Rather than publishing this research which would have been irresponsible, I have instead elected to pass it to the New Zealand Shareholders Association to deal with in its usual manner.
I thus now write to you in the capacity of the Association.
Your results on these key ratios were as follow for the June 2008 or equivalent year end.
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Covenant
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Likely level of bank discomfort
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Your result
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Debt to Ebitda
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Above 4 likely default, based on Nuplex disclosure, above 3 discomfort.
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3.39
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Interest bearing debt to book equity
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Above 1 discomfort above 2 likely default
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1.59
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Interest bearing debt to net tangible assets plus interest bearing debt
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Above 90% default, above 75% discomfort
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81%
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Earnings before interest and tax to interest paid
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Less than $3 discomfort, less than $2 default.
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$2.27
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|
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To provide some clarity to the basis on which this analysis is prepared, I refer you to my personal Blog onStuff (Stirring the Pot.) The final in that series is attached as it explains how these numbers were compiled and will assist you in reconciling your reply.
While you may well have been compliant on usual bank covenants as at 30 June 2008, any minor deterioration in your operating results likely will push you beyond any prudent level of bank comfort. Your half year result was just such a deterioration and while you may have continued your momentum in reducing working capital and debt your capacity to do this in line with your published income reduction is unlikely to avoid such a technical default.
You have confirmed your compliance with Bank covenants, but have not disclosed the details of these.
In the circumstances we ask that you comment on our analysis, and further ask that you disclose your bank covenants in detail and the relevant ratios to show that you were in compliance at your last balance date and remain compliant at the date of your letter.
The Association usually publishes its correspondence within 7 days of the letter being issued: however the issues we raise are in our view so fundamental to the wellbeing of both the company and its owners that we will delay publication until we receive your reply.
But also please note that if you fail to reply within 30 days we will forward a copy of this letter to NZX with a requestto them to make inquiry of you under the continuous disclosure regime. We will subsequently publish this letter regardless of NZX’s action in response.
Yours Faithfully,
B R Sheppard
Chairman