July 22, 2024 – It is no longer a secret. MEYER Werft, which has been highly valued by cruise ship companies, is facing pressing, existentially threatening financing problems. The company's debt burden is overwhelming.
A debt burden of well over two billion euros must be managed. Drastic measures are required to obtain fresh liquidity. The prerequisite is the submission of a restructuring plan. The draft of a restructuring plan in accordance with the IDW S6 guidelines of the management consultancy Deloitte is now available. The IDW S6 guidelines state that the company's financing must be secured with a high degree of probability for the forecast period. In addition, the company in question is expected to be able to compete and operate profitably.
Shipyard hall of the MEYER shipyard in Papenburg
The draft report presented promises a positive future prognosis for MEYER Werft. According to statements from the shipyard, the restructuring concept serves as the basis for finalizing negotiations on the restructuring contributions of all interested parties. It is the basis for the design of the financing concept to cover financial requirements. The company's ability to be restructured will only be confirmed once the final report is submitted, preferably at the end of August. By this time, in addition to the financing concept, other requirements must be met, such as further specification of the operational measures and the start of implementation of the measures.
The report shows the strengths of MEYER Werft. These include its innovative strength, an entrepreneurial and committed new management team and many extremely experienced employees. For the company management, the restructuring concept is the basis for continuing the changes that have been initiated so far. These are aimed at achieving savings in the low three-digit million range, especially in the areas of value creation and through modernization and standardization of management and control systems.
A period of three to four years is expected for the structural change. The CEO, Bernd Eikens, and the restructuring expert Ralf Schmitz speak of a challenging and difficult path forward for all parties.