January 25, 2009
Viterra to reduce Australian short-term debt position
Press Release
Viterra has announced its intention to reduce the short-term debt of its Australian operations by C$300 million (US$284 million) by the end of January, 2010.
The company is utilising C$300 million of surplus cash to reduce seasonal drawings on the A$1.2 billion (US$1.1 billion) operating facility of its wholly owned Australian subsidiary, formerly known as ABB Grain Ltd. This action is expected to reduce the company's interest expense (net of interest otherwise earned on short-term investments) by approximately C$1.3 million (US$1.23 million) per month.
Rex McLennan, Chief Financial Officer of Viterra said, "At year-end, we had over C$1 billion (US$947 million) in cash and short-term investments on our balance sheet, of which approximately C$800 million (US$757.4 million) is available for other uses. This is a consistent with our global focus on operations and liquidity management."
Availability under the A$1.2 billion facility is not impacted. Funds are expected to remain in place until they are required to support Viterra's future growth plans.
