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Centro Properties Group (Centro) announced today that its financiers both in Australia and the US have further extended finance arrangements as follows:
�� Facilities of approximately US$1.3 billion (A$1.4 billion) associated with Centro’s US joint venture with Centro Retail Trust (CER) have been extended until 30 September 2008. Extension beyond 30 April 2008 is subject to similar arrangements being agreed under the Australian extension arrangements. Additional development funding of US$80 million (A$90 million) has also been provided to the Centro/CER US joint venture;
�� Facilities of A$2.3 billion* under the Australian extension arrangements have been extended until 30 April 2008; and
�� US Private Placement Noteholders who are collectively owed US$450 million (A$505 million) have agreed to continue to act in accordance with an extension arrangement similar to the Australian extension arrangements.
An extension beyond 30 April 2008 of the Australian facilities and US Private Placement Notes will be negotiated once the recapitalisation process is further advanced.
Glenn Rufrano, chief executive officer of Centro said, “The Group appreciates the cooperation of its lenders which will allow sufficient time to complete the review of recapitalisation options. The strategic review is progressing well with a significant number of parties interested in pursuing a recapitalisation of the Group.”
Until the outcome of the recapitalisation process is known, Centro considers it appropriate to suspend guidance of its forecast operating distributable profit per security for FY08.
Current and Non Current Debt Classification
Centro announced on 15 January 2008 that it had initiated a review of the classification of its current and non-current debt in its audited 30 June 2007 accounts and that it considered that there was a prospect that the current liabilities expressed in those accounts may have been higher than previously reported. Centro has completed this review, and the historical position as at 30 June 2007 will be restated in Centro’s half year accounts in accordance
with Accounting Standard AASB 101.
Subject to the audit thereof, Centro expects an additional A$1,514,097,090 of interest bearing liabilities which were classified as non-current to be re-classified as current. This is in addition to the A$1,096,936,000 classified as current in the audited 30 June 2007 accounts. The total debt of A$3,603,751,000 in the audited 30 June 2007 accounts was accurate.
US$190 million (A$223.8 million) of the A$1,514,097,090 referenced above was refinanced on a long term basis between 30 June 2007 and the date of the financial report, and would appropriately have been the subject of a note to this effect in the accounts.
A statement of Centro’s debt maturity profile was set out in a schedule to its announcement on 17 December 2007. That schedule included Centro’s debt and relevant debt associated in its US joint venture with CER. That information remains unchanged.
The Board is continuing its review of the circumstances surrounding the original classification in the audited 30 June 2007 accounts.
Centro will announce its half yearly results on 28 February 2008.
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