Norilsk Nickel faces $1.2 bln debt payments in 2011
MOSCOW. Oct 21 (Interfax) - MMC Norilsk Nickel is due to repay $1.2 billion in debt next year, the Arctic mining and smelting giant says in materials.
The company told Interfax that the figure represented loan repayments, not bonds.
Norilsk has reduced its leverage to $3.3 billion as of June 30, 2010, from $6.4 billion at the beginning of 2009. Long-term debt accounted for 64% and short-term debt for 54% of this.
Repayments peak this year, when the company is due to repay $2.97 billion.
Norilsk Nickel placed 15 billion rubles in three-year commercial paper in the form of exchange-traded bonds (series Bo-3) at 7% pa in August. Directors at the beginning of June decided in favor of placing up to 100 billion rubles in exchange bonds and conventional local-currency bonds.