Samsung Heavy Selling Shares to Raise Close to USD 1 Bn

SHI South Koreas Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) is looking to raise up to KRW 1.1 trillion (USD 982.9 million) through a rights offering in an aim to cut its losses and secure liquidity, the company said in a stock exchange filing. The company added that it plans to issue 159.1 million of new shares at a price of KRW 6,920 each. The new shares are set to be listed on November 28, 2016. The move was made in response to a drop in shipbuilding orders seen at the countrys Big Three shipbuilders, all of which are currently undergoing restructuring. Despite narrowing its loss during the second quarter of the year, Samsung Heavy Industries stayed in the red as it reported a net loss of KRW 212.3 billion in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of KRW 1.15 trillion reported in the same quarter of 2015. The shipbuilder’s net loss for the first half of the year accumulated to KRW 196.4 billion, compared to a net loss of KRW 1.14 trillion seen in the same period in 2015. SHIs compatriot shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) reported a net loss of KRW 1.2 trillion in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of KRW 430.7 billion seen a year earlier, while South Koreas third major shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) continued its earnings streak in the quarter following its return to the black in the first quarter of 2016. Namely, due to its strict cost cutting measures, the shipbuilder’s net income for the period increased to KRW 392.3 billion from KRW 244.5 billion seen in the previous quarter, and against a net loss of KRW 242.4 billion recorded in the second quarter a year earlier. World Maritime News Staff