CuDeco posts $18m loss

Battling copper miner lodges half-year accounts

jenny.rogers@news.com.au been unable to lodge its financial accounts while it sought financing to repay its debt to a Chinese bank.

CuDeco owes $US60 million to Minsheng Bank, payable in four quarterly payments of $US15 million through to the December quarter 2017.

The company last month 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOST CITY secured last-ditch Chinese funding to raise $22 ($US15 million) million through the issue of a convertible note.

The funds were to be used solely to repay its bank debt.

The loan was due to be repaid on March 31.

CuDeco said it made the first $US15 million payment to Minsheng Bank on April 21.

It has now awarded a mining contract to a Bendigobased mining contractor and mining restarted on March 15.

CuDeco said its $18.3 million half-year loss included $15.5 million of non-cash depreciation and amortisation.

It also was hit by a $1.2 million foreign exchange loss due to currency movements in its loan facility which is denominated in US dollars.

CuDeco said it has chosen not to hedge the loan against foreign currency movements.

Trouble-plagued CuDeco has been battling a string of corporate and financial headaches. It was ordered to shut down its Rocklands processing facility after failing a safety audit and suffered turmoil at the top with a string of management changes.

It lost its managing director Dianmin Chen, chairman Noel White and general manager Mark Roberts, who left in February. Peter Hutchison was appointed interim chairman and it has a new CEO, COO and general manager.

Its shares, which hit a high of 75¢ this year, last traded at 36.5¢.