KUALA LUMPUR: Sapura Energy Bhd and 22 of its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively known as scheme companies) have obtained new orders from the court today, to summon meetings of each of their respective scheme creditors.
They also obtained a restraining order from legal actions or proceedings against any of them for three months from March 11.
The previous convening and restraining orders of the court granted on March 10 2022 (and extended on June 8 2022) are set to expire on March 10 this year.
"The new restraining order will have the effect of restraining legal proceedings against the scheme companies, enabling them to engage with creditors in their debt restructuring efforts without being distracted by threat of legal proceedings," Sapura Energy said today.
The court's decision also included the effective appointment of existing Sapura Energy independent non-executive director Lim Fu Yen as the majority creditors' nominated director in the boards of Sapura Energy and the 22 subsidiaries.
He will replace Cosimo Borrelli, whose term of appointment under the previous court orders expires on March 10.
Group chief executive officer Datuk Anuar Taib acknowledged the lengthy negotiations process and thanked its financiers and trade creditors for their cooperation during the past one year.
"This has been an uphill journey and we have now come to a crossroad. We need to offer a fair landing to our financiers, and at the same time ensure that our trade creditors, who include small and medium Malaysian enterprises, are not short-changed."
Sapura Energy said it had made significant progress in its Reset
Plan in the past 12 months, as it focused on completing the debt restructuring exercise and turn around its operations.
"Despite limited working capital and macroeconomic challenges, the group's financial performance showed a marked improvement compared to the previous fiscal year, with all segments posting positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) in the first three quarters of financial year 2023 (FY2023)."
As of the third quarter of FY2023, the group's order book stood at RM6.8 billion, with contract wins for the year amounting to RM3.4 billion.
The order book of its jointly controlled entities stood at another RM5.7 billion.
Sapura Energy completed a total of 45 projects for its clients in FY2023, and eleven of its rigs are currently under contract in Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and West Africa.
"The group retained its capabilities despite financial drawbacks, improving the prospects of the company. The beneficiaries of this turnaround include our vendors and the entire value chain in which we operate," Anuar remarked.