Ukrainian Railways restructures key debt maturing in 2020

Ukrainian Railways (RAILUA) reported on July 27 that
it completed the restructuring of about USD 200 mln in loans from Sberbank
Ukraine that mature on July 31. The loans’ maturities were extended for up to three
years with an option of early redemption. The deal “will have a positive effect
on the company’s liquidity and will allow to sustain the required level of
current financing of operational and capital investments,” Ukrainian Railways
commented.

Alexander Paraschiy: Sberbank debt restructuring is probably the most important event for
Ukrainian Railways in 2020. Sberbank’s loans accounted for half of the total
debt that the company was scheduled to repay this year (USD 402 mln) and
two-thirds of debt due in 2H20 (USD 294 mln). The prolongation of such debt
significantly improves the company’s financial stability. At least, this allows
the company to smoothly pay USD 50 mln in amortization of the 2021 Eurobond in
September. Also, this could trigger an improvement of the company’s credit
ratings with the removal of a key liquidity risk.