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Travel company Cox and Kings on Monday said it was unable to declare its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, as it was in the midst of finalising a resolution plan to resurrect the company. The company also got a 180-day breather from lenders to finalise a resolution plan.
In a filing to the exchanges, the company said it intends to extend the date of submission of the Q1 results. “The revised date of the meeting to consider the said quarterly financial results shall be communicated at the earliest possible.”
The firm has been facing a liquidity crunch for the past few months. On three different occasions, it had defaulted ₹10 crore, ₹174 crore and ₹45 crore worth commercial papers respectively.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) had cancelled the company’s licence to sell tickets. Its independent director Subhash Chandra Bhargava, too, announced his resignation from the board last week.
State Bank of India is the lead lender along with a consortium of other banks.
About 70 per cent of lenders have signed the InterCreditor Agreement (ICA) for a period of 180 days to finalise a resolution plan. “The company is perusing with the balance lenders with respect to ICA signing,” the company said.
The company informed the exchanges that in a board meeting held on August 12 it was decided to withdraw and cancel the proposal of the declaration of dividend. A dividend of 20 per cent at Re 1 per share was proposed for the financial year 2018-19.
The travel service provider also informed that Malvern Group Ltd, the holding company of Superbreak and LateRooms Ltd, had declared insolvency in the UK. Cox & Kings had invested ₹9.21 crore in the Malvern Group for a 49 per cent stake in the company. Its subsidiary companies, Superbreak was acquired by Cox and Kings as part of Holidaybreak Ltd acquisition in September 2011 which was a dominant short holiday provider in the UK. LateRooms was acquired by Cox and Kings in October 2015.
“Superbreak and LateRooms Ltd, subsidiary of Malvern Group, had appointed KPMG as the administrator. The administrator will work closely with the Association of British Travel Agents and UK Civil Aviation Authority to minimise disruptions and will seek offers from suitors,” it said.
The travel company in a statement said it is “working on various other monetisation initiatives to address its liquidity issues”.
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