MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pescanova needs 185 million Euros to get back to business, say auditors

The Galician company has a brand name in the world but financial difficulties have spoilt her reputation

The Galician multinational firm Pescanova needs an estimated 185 million Euros in working capital to be run in a year, according to estimates made by the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

 According to the feasibility report submitted by PwC to Spain's National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), sales of the company are estimated to be 1,338 billion in the first year, with an average annual growth of 7% to reach 1,624bn Euros within four years.

The auditing company noted that ”these needs will require fewer liquidity injections depending on the ability to generate operating profit (EBITDA) during the first year.“

Furthermore, PwC clarified that its report ”does not consider other potential needs of non-operating aspects such as the potential payout given a possible recovery of business in Chile from bankruptcy, amortization of syndicated credit line formalized last June or potential income from divestments.”

The viability plan intends to centralize management, marketing and simplify the legal structure. Besides it forecasts an EBITDA in the first year of EUR 119 million with a compound annual growth rate of 19%. The EBITDA projected in four years would reach EUR 202 million.

Meanwhile, Deloitte, the reorganization administrator of the fishing firm, informed the CNMV that it is estimated that 60% of the group's sales come directly from those made by the commercial firms and Pescanova to third parties.

On the other hand, Pescanova is considering getting rid of the aquaculture macro-plant located in Mira, Portugal, the newspaper La Voz de Galicia informed.

Several sources familiar with the business plan of Pescanova ensure that their future is disinvestment in Portugal, since this huge fish farm has only registered losses since its launching in 2009.

Pescanova’s former chairman, Manuel Fernández de Sousa, decided to make a huge investment at that time to turn it into the largest turbot plant in the world. (FIS).