Resilience indigenous player, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc on Monday announced a one-year extension of its Revolving Credit Facility to December 31, 2018.
A statement posted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) website on Monday evening said that the present three-year RCF, due to expire at the end of 2017, would now expire on Dec. 31, 2018.
Seplat also noted that the credit had been successfully amended to amortise the remaining outstanding principal balance of $150m in equal instalments over five quarters commencing from the fourth quarter of 2017.
With the development, Seplat’s aggregate indebtedness under its term loan and RCF had reduced by $365m from its peak of $1bn in the first quarter of 2015 to the current balance of $635m as of June 30.
The group revealed further that the reduction was a significant deleveraging of the balance sheet particularly in exceptionally difficult trading conditions over the past 18 months, adding that the amended facility had been provided by Citibank N.A London Branch, Citibank Nigeria Ltd., the Mauritius Commercial Bank Plc, Natixis and Nedbank Ltd London branch.
Others are Nomura International Plc, First Rand Bank Ltd., acting through its Rand Merchant Bank Division, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, The Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd., and Standard Chartered Bank.
According to Mr Roger Brown, Seplat’s Chief Financial Officer, “the company was pleased to announce the extension of the RCF”.
THE CFO also explained that the extension approval demonstrated the company’s underlying business fundamentals and the strength of its relationship with continuing and new lenders.
Continuing, Brown averred that “The amended facility and recent resumption of exports via the Forcados terminal will enable the business to rebuild cash on its balance sheet as we seek to strengthen our capital structure to ensure a strong platform for future growth”.
