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Spain: Tomcoex is emerging from its crisis
On 2 May, the Badajoz Commercial Court officially stated that the targets determined and approved in December 2016 by the Council of creditors of Tomcoex in the context of its insolvency procedure have been fully achieved.
Miajadas based company Tomcoex, specializing in the manufacturing of canned tomatoes and sauces, had filed for voluntary bankruptcy in 2015 after the liquidation of its main shareholder, the Acorex Cooperative, which had been unable to restructure and refinance its debts, estimated at some EUR 50 million. In 2016, the Council of creditors had approved, by a vote with an 85% majority, the sale of the company to two potential buyers – Conservas Vegetales de Extremadura (Conesa) and Aceitunas Cazorla – and had given its green light to a sustainability plan submitted by Tomcoex in order to avoid its own liquidation. Creditors had then accepted a 70% reduction in the debt (whose total amounted to EUR 19.1 million), while the two buyers committed to paying the remaining 30% as well as ongoing debts on the basis of the agreement. In April and May 2017, Tomcoex made a payment of EUR 2.38 million, corresponding to 30% of the debt, thereby erasing the remaining 70%.
Miajadas based company Tomcoex, specializing in the manufacturing of canned tomatoes and sauces, had filed for voluntary bankruptcy in 2015 after the liquidation of its main shareholder, the Acorex Cooperative, which had been unable to restructure and refinance its debts, estimated at some EUR 50 million. In 2016, the Council of creditors had approved, by a vote with an 85% majority, the sale of the company to two potential buyers – Conservas Vegetales de Extremadura (Conesa) and Aceitunas Cazorla – and had given its green light to a sustainability plan submitted by Tomcoex in order to avoid its own liquidation. Creditors had then accepted a 70% reduction in the debt (whose total amounted to EUR 19.1 million), while the two buyers committed to paying the remaining 30% as well as ongoing debts on the basis of the agreement. In April and May 2017, Tomcoex made a payment of EUR 2.38 million, corresponding to 30% of the debt, thereby erasing the remaining 70%.
According to available information, last year, Tomcoex ended on a negative result in excess of EUR 2 million, due to the loss of a large proportion of its clientele and a significant decrease in sales linked to a considerable drop in processed volumes. However, in the stable business context provided by the support of its new shareholders, Tomcoex has forecast for the 2017 marketing year a notable increase in its turnover in the sauces sector (+43%, to EUR 6 million), for a sales volume of some 6 000 tonnes.
For the time being, Tomcoex is continuing to operate as usual at its Miajadas plant, with an annual processing capacity of approximately 100 000 tonnes (tomato frito, crushed tomato and ketchup) since an important operational investment of EUR 26 million was made in 2009. Other investments are being planned for the near future.
Finally, the company was designated last April as a supplier of tomato frito sauce to the 2018 operational program of food assistance run by the FEAD (Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived), with a budget of EUR 3.9 million.
Source: alimarket.es
