Tessenderlo issued a press release yesterday during trading hours with some additional information regarding the intended restructuring within its Inorganics division.
The intended closure of the Ham phosphates site will lead to an estimated 170 job cuts (out of 506 people working at the Tessenderlo Ham site). Negotiations with the Works Council on the restructurings/lay-offs will now start.
The press release does not contain any information about possible social and closing costs (recall that the group already took € 60m environmental provisions in 4Q12 on its Limburg plants in Ham and Tessenderlo).
Our View:
We already have incorporated € 25m social and closing costs in our earnings model for 2013, but given the number of estimated lay-offs that number might be on the low side. On the other hand, we believe some positive exceptionals are also possible later this year, as we believe some of the other intended divestments (most notably Plastic Pipes Systems) might come with some capital gains. We see no reason to change our Hold rating for now.