Schindler to take second writedown on Hyundai investment
19/12/2013 19:02
ZURICH, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Swiss lift and escalator maker Schindler SCHN.S will book a 64 million Swiss franc ($71 million) charge on its stake in Hyundai Elevator Co O17800.KS due to a slump in the South Korean firm's share price following plans for a capital hike. The writedown is a further blow for Schindler which has already booked an impairment of 155 million francs on its holding in the second quarter. In a statement on Thursday, Schindler said it will take the latest charge in the fourth quarter. It said its dividend policy would be unaffected by the impairment. "Should the share price of Hyundai Elevator further deteriorate, additional impairments will be necessary, possibly before the end of the year," Schindler said. The Swiss company is at odds with Hyundai, which has announced three capital hikes this year. Although it is the second biggest shareholder with a 30.9 percent stake, Schindler has little influence because it has no seats on the board. In June, the company saw it stake in Hyundai diluted to 30.9 percent from 35 percent when it didn't take part in a previous capital increase. Schindler said it had decided to challenge the latest capital increase - planned for the first quarter of 2014 - in court. ($1 = 0.8968 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Caroline Copley; editing by David Evans) ((Caroline.Copley@thomsonreuters.com)(+41 58 306 7354)(Reuters Messaging: caroline.copley.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: SCHINDLER HYUNDAI/IMPAIRMENT