Ardagh to redeem $440m of senior notes in deleveraging bid

PACKAGING giant Ardagh, which is headed by financier Paul Coulson, plans to redeem all of a $440m (€374m) tranche of notes that would have fallen due in 2021.

The senior notes, which carry a 6pc coupon, or interest rate, will be redeemed on July 31.

The group also plans to deleverage further during the remainder of the year.

Ardagh said that following the redemption, it will have no debt falling due before September 2022.

The tranche that falls due then is $715m in senior secured notes, with a 4.25pc coupon.

Following this month’s redemption, Ardagh’s average debt maturity will be six years, with an average coupon of 5pc. More than 90pc of its gross debt will be at fixed rates.

Ardagh said that in the last 18 months, it will have used $1.2bn (€1bn) of cash generated from operations, proceeds from its stock market flotation, and available liquidity to repay fixed-term debt.

“The group remains focused on deleveraging over the seasonally more cash generative second half of 2018,” it said.

Ardagh, which publishes its second-quarter results on July 26th next, had net debt of $8.3bn (€7.06bn) at the end of March, compared to $7.8bn at the end of December.

At the end of March, its net debt to last 12 months adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, stood at 5.4 times, compared to 5.2 times at the end of December. Ardagh is one of the world’s largest packaging firms.

Last year, it generated revenues of €7.6bn and an operating profit of €601m.

It operates 108 facilities in 22 countries and employs about 23,300 people. Clients include some of the world’s biggest brands.