Stolt-Nielsen concentrates on cutting debt from $2.45 billion level

By Devika Patel

Knoxville, Tenn., April 12 – Stolt-Nielsen Ltd. plans to reduce its debt throughout 2018 and going forward, having reached its self-imposed debt limit at $2.45 billion.

“Our focus continues to be on reducing debt where and when we can and maintaining a strong liquidity position,” chief financial officer Jens F. Grüner-Hegge said on the company’s earnings conference call for its first quarter ended Feb. 28 on Thursday.

“Our focus does remain on reducing debt, carefully reviewing our capital expenditures and reducing our operating expense,” Grüner-Hegge said.

The company’s top executive also stressed that the company’s debt will be reduced.

“We have $2.4 billion in debt,” chief executive officer Niels Stolt-Nielsen said on the call.

“We have reached our self-imposed debt limit.

“Our debt will be going down this year and continue to go down going forward,” Stolt-Nielsen said.

On March 19, subsequent to the end of the first quarter, Stolt-Nielsen repaid a $148.7 million bond.

“We did pay down a bond subsequent to the quarter-end,” Grüner-Hegge said.

Debt, net of cash and cash equivalents, as of Feb. 28 was $2,447,900,000, compared with $2,411,400,000 as of Nov. 30, 2017.

At quarter-end, the availability under the company’s revolving credit line was $395 million.

As of Feb. 28, the company had $70 million in cash and $65 million in uncommitted credit lines.

Total liquidity at the end of the quarter was $530 million.

London-based Stolt-Nielsen provides integrated transportation and storage solutions for specialty and bulk liquid chemicals.

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