Mexican Media Brands
Brake Supplier Akebono Seeks Turnaround Aid
Japanese brake system supplier Akebono Brake Industry Co. has filed for an out-of-court turnaround and is seeking financial aid to avoid bankruptcy, The Nikkei reports.
#economics
Share
Japanese brake system supplier Akebono Brake Industry Co. has filed for an out-of-court turnaround and is seeking financial aid to avoid bankruptcy, The Nikkei reports.
The plan targets only claims held by banks. Unlike a conventional court-led turnaround, the scheme—a relatively new option in Japan—won’t affect receivables from Akebono’s own suppliers.
The Nikkei says Akebono has asked its largest shareholder and biggest customer, Toyota Motor Corp., for a cash infusion. The supplier also is expected to ask its lenders to postpone loan payments due on 103 billion yen ($990 million) in debt, according to the newspaper.
Akebono is scrambling to complete the recovery plan by June. The company’s fortunes have been dragged down by its North American operations, which failed to win new business from local carmakers.
In an earnings report for its fiscal first half ended Sept. 30, Akebono warned last autumn that there were material doubts about its ability to avoid financial collapse. The company’s sales in April-September fell 7% to 126 billion yen ($1.2 billion), and operating profit plummeted 43% to 2.4 billion yen ($22 million)
RELATED CONTENT
-
Ford’s $42 Billion Cash Cow
F-Series pickups generate about 30% of the carmaker’s revenue. The tally is about twice as much as what McDonald’s pulls in.
-
Report Forecasts Huge Economic Upside for Self-Driving EVs
Widespread adoption of autonomous electric vehicles could provide $800 billion in annual social and economic benefits in the U.S. by 2050, according to a new report.
-
China and U.S. OEMs
When Ford announced its 3rd quarter earning on October 24, the official announcement said, in part, “Company revenue was up 3 percent year over year, with net income and company adjusted EBIT both down year over year, primarily driven by continued challenges in China.” The previous day, perhaps as a preemptive move to answer the question “If things are going poorly in China, what are you doing about it?, Ford announced that it was establishing Ford China as a stand-alone business unit.