May 13 (SeeNews) - A Croatian commercial court has decided to launch bankruptcy proceedings against Uljanik Shipyard, its parent company, Uljanik Group [ZSE:ULJN], said on Monday.
The group announced the Pazin court decision in a statement submitted to the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE).
Following the announcement, the ZSE said in a separate note that it is suspending trading in Uljanik Group's shares as of Monday due to the opening of bankruptcy proceedings against Uljanik Shipyard.
The court's decision grants a request of Croatia's financial agency FINA submitted in March seeking the shipyard's bankruptcy over an outstanding debt of 28.2 million kuna ($4.3 million/3.8 million euro).
Also in March, prime minister Andrej Plenkovic said the government cannot endorse a proposed restructuring of Uljanik and 3 Maj shipyards, as the operation would require a huge financial exposure by the state.
Plenkovic pointed out that Croatia spent 31.7 billion kuna between 1992 and 2017 for the recovery of its shipyards, with 4.3 billion kuna of the total going to Uljanik and 9 billion kuna to 3 Maj, or an overall 13.3 billion kuna for what is today Uljanik Group.
The Uljanik Group comprises two major shipyards - Uljanik and 3 Maj, along with smaller subsidiaries. The group has been in financial trouble for some time due to the adverse effects of the global financial crisis on the shipbuilding sector.
Last month, the Rijeka commercial court rescheduled for June 5 the hearing at which it was to decide whether to open bankruptcy proceedings against the 3 Maj shipyard.
Also on Monday, Uljanik Group said in a separate bourse filing that the commercial court in Pazin discussed a request for opening bankruptcy proceedings against another of the group's subsidiaries - Uljanik Shipbuilding Computer Sistems (USCS).
Last week, the Uljanik Group said a decision was made for opening bankruptcy proceedings against two more of its companies - Uljanik Strojogradnja Diesel and Uljanik Tesu.
(1 euro = 7.40570 kuna)