Conergy shares seen rocketing on refinancing deal
FRANKFURT, July 30 (Reuters) - Shares in ailing Conergy , Germany's fourth-largest solar company by revenue, were seen rocketing on Friday after it reached a refinancing deal, removing a major stumbling block in its restructuring.
By 0605 GMT, shares in the company -- once Germany's biggest solar player by sales before it became a restructuring case -- were indicated 15.1 percent higher, according to pre-market data from brokerage Lang & Schwarz.
Conergy late Thursday said it had reached an agreement with its creditor banks to extend 450 million euros ($588.9 million) of credit lines until the end of 2011.
'The strong business pickup in recent months was clearly a big help in our discussions with banks, showing that our restructuring efforts are finally bearing fruit,' Chief Executive Dieter Ammer told Reuters.
Ongoing negotiations with banks had caused the company to postpone the release of second-quarter results, now scheduled for Aug. 12.
The company was thrown into crisis even before overcapacity and a slump in prices for solar cells and modules hit peers across the industry, as unprofitable business areas prevented it making a profit for nearly three years.
Earlier this year, a settlement in a solar wafer supply contract lawsuit with U.S. peer MEMC Electronic Materials was hailed by analysts as a decisive step in the company's turnaround, but investors remained cautious in light of refinancing negotiations with banks.
However, soaring demand for solar products in Germany, the world's biggest solar market, has led the sector to recover strongly, with players such as SolarWorld and Renewable Energy Corp posting strong second-quarter results.,
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by David Holmes)