Alstom eyes £1.3bn debt reduction

FRENCH-owned heavy engineering group Alstom plans a rights issue 'as soon as possible', which together with property sales and other sell-offs will reduce debt levels by e2.1bn (£1.3bn) by March 2003.

It intends to reduce its debt burden to a gearing level of 20% by 2005. The energy and transport giant said there will be no dividend this year.

Today it described its financial year ending last March as 'unsatisfactory'. Every sector of its business appears to have been hit. Five contracts for Juniper and Coradia trains for British operators were delayed because of safety approval and modification problems.

The biggest blow was the bankruptcy of US cruise ships operator Renaissance Cruises. Together, these difficulties, plunged the group into a net loss of e139m.