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| Sunday, May 17, 03:00:25pm | [ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ] |
| Subject: ERG plays its cards right in Sweden | |
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Author: April 2 2003 |
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Date Posted: Tuesday, April 01, 11:50:44pm In reply to: Newspapers reporting result--March 7 2003 SMH 's message, "Noteholders have tickets to ride" on Thursday, March 06, 08:38:56am http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/01/1048962756723.html ERG plays its cards right in Sweden By Colin KrugerApril 2 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------- ERG's shares may be taking a drubbing, with questions being raised about its financial viability, but the smartcard vendor is still winning the big ticket contracts, with a $58 million project in Stockholm announced yesterday. ----------------------------------------------------------- ERG has been chosen by Stockholm's public transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik to implement a smartcard-based fare collection system across its entire public transport network. ---------------------------------------------------------- The project, covering 150 rail and metro stations as well as 1800 buses, is expected to commence this month with 1million smartcards to be issued over the next two-and-a-half years. ERG said the company would start receiving revenue from the project this week and was bidding for similar projects in Copenhagen and Lisbon as well as its home town, Perth. ----------------------------------------------------------- The contract follows recent wins in Sydney and Seattle worth $320 million and $100 million respectively, and last week's sale of its subsidiary Proton World for $110 million. ----------------------------------------------------------- The sale of Proton World and a proposed capital restructure were needed to bolster the company's balance sheet so it could continue bidding for projects, ERG chief executive Peter Fogarty said. ----------------------------------------------------------- But a series of losses, including a $125 million loss for the first half of this financial year, had led to questions about the company's viability, ERG chairman Sandy Murdoch admitted. The restructure would rectify this, he said. ----------------------------------------------------------- Shareholders have been asked to gather at the Perth Hyatt Regency's Golden Ballroom on April 30 to approve the resolution that will exchange $250 million worth of convertible notes for ERG shares. ----------------------------------------------------------- A $50 million rights issue was also on the cards but the company's directors had yet to confirm whether it would go ahead as planned next month, a company spokesman said. ----------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders' meeting follows noteholder approval of the resolution last week. ----------------------------------------------------------- If approved, the restructure will see Sydney businessman Duncan Saville emerge with a dominant stake in ERG with up to 41 per cent of its shares via the convertible notes he holds and other instruments. ----------------------------------------------------------- Shareholders will also vote on a proposal to consolidate shares at a ratio of 10:1, reducing what could amount to 3 billion issued shares to 300 million. ----------------------------------------------------------- [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| How Swede it is if you don't own it | Mark Westfield--The Australian--Wed 2 Apr 2003 | Tuesday, April 01, 11:53:28pm |