28.01.2022
State-owned asset management company KEDIPES reported a cash inflow of €115.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, the highest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The indicator increased by 28.3% compared to the previous quarter.
For 2021, KEDIPES paid out €250 million to the government, with a total disbursement since the start of operations of €570 million. Company President Lambros Papadopoulos said that in conjunction with the Ledra project, which involves the sale of existing loans at face value. 476 million, KEDIPES payments to the government will exceed 1 billion euros by 2022.
KEDIPES started operations in September 2018 after the sale of the assets of the former Co-operative Bank of Cyprus (CCP) to Hellenic Bank. KEDIPES aims to roll up KPC’s delinquent assets in order to repay the €3.5 billion state aid.
According to the results, cash inflows in the fourth quarter of 2021 were €115.5 million, an increase of 28.3% compared to the previous quarter, and cash inflows in 2021 were €403 million, an increase of 29% compared to 311 million euros in the previous quarter. 2020.
The cumulative cash inflow since September 2018 has been €1.22 billion, according to Papadopoulos, exceeding KEDIPES’ business plan.
The President of KEDIPES said revenue also increased thanks to a new agreement with Altamira Cyprus, which manages KEDIPES assets, which are now performance-based. Papadopoulos added that with the successful completion of the Ledra project, they could exceed the €1 billion payout to the government, noting that KEDIPES is currently in exclusive talks with the project’s preferred bidder.
“The sale and purchase agreement is expected to be finalized next month, with a deal expected to close in the first half of 2022,” he said.
Operating and asset management expenses in the last quarter of 2021 were €33.4 million, up 30.8% quarter-on-quarter, and operating and asset management expenses during 2021 were €113.2 million, an increase of 7% compared to 2020.
The total cash inflow since the start of operations amounted to 1.22 billion euros.
“We have a long road ahead of us,” said CFO Lambros Papalambrianou, noting that under KEDIPES’ business plan, the company would need a total cash inflow of €4.8 billion to pay off the €3.5 billion government bailout.
By the end of 2021, KEDIPES’ total assets (net of interest capitalization) were €5.91 billion, compared to €8.25 billion in September 2018, with an overall deleveraging of €2.34 billion.
In addition, Papadopoulos said KEDIPES expects unions to start a “constructive dialogue” about reducing the company’s staff, as the voluntary retirement program has only attracted 39 people, compared to a target of 130 people.He said layoffs are possible, recalling that an updated report from an outside adviser showed KEDIPES should be downsized to 300 from 360 today.
Papadopoulos dismissed the possibility of a new or more generous VRS, noting that KEDIPES cannot cover the cost of the new plan as it has a specific lifecycle that its business plan would run until the end of 2027.
