Future Retail pays interest on USD bonds, averts default

The company has paid the interest amount of USD 14 million due on the 5.60% senior secured notes due 2025 (USD notes) after a grace period of 30 days, Future Retail said in the filing on Monday.

Saving the company from a default, Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail has paid USD 14 million (around Rs 103 crore) as interest on its USD notes, according to a regulatory filing. The company has paid the interest amount of USD 14 million due on the 5.60% senior secured notes due 2025 (USD notes) after a grace period of 30 days, Future Retail said in the filing on Monday. The company on July 22 had informed the exchanges that it had missed the payment of interest on the USD notes on account of liquidity crunch.

"Today, we are pleased to inform that the company has made the payment of said interest for the half-year ended for an amount of USD 14 million on above USD Notes," Future Retail said. The debt-ridden company also thanked its "investors and USD Notes holders for their continued confidence" in the company.

The terms of issuance of the USD Notes provides for an additional period of 30 days for payment of interest from the due date, in case same could not have been paid on the original due date, the company had informed bourses earlier. "Accordingly, we are proposing to make payment of the interest within 30 days from the interest due date on the USO Notes. We are in the process of ensuring that payment of such interest is made within this additional time period," Future Retail had said earlier. Last week, another Future group firm Future Enterprises Ltd (FEL) had defaulted on interest payment on non-convertible debentures due on August 16.

According to the filing, the company had issued two series of NCDs of Rs 106 crore and Rs 159 crore, aggregating Rs 265 crore on February 16, 2017, and the tenures would "end on the day falling at the expiry of 5 and 6 years (respectively) therefrom". The coupon rate is 9.60 per cent per annum with payment frequency of half-yearly basis on February 16 and August 16 each year.

Shares of Future Retail Ltd on Monday settled at Rs 114.25 on BSE, down 6.62 per cent from the previous close.