By Luciana Magalhaes
SAO PAULO--Companies controlled by troubled Brazilian
entrepreneur Eike Batista have postponed quarterly earnings
releases, initially expected for this week, while their balance
sheets are reviewed by an independent auditing firm.
Mr. Batista's EBX group communicated its decision via a series
of regulatory filings Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
The delay follows recent court filings by two of the EBX
companies for protection from creditors under Brazilian bankruptcy
laws. The two companies are oil and gas producer OGX Petroleo e Gas
Participacoes SA (OGXP3.BR) and shipbuilder OSX Brasil SA
(OSXB3.BR).
"Their numbers are going to be very ugly," said Pedro Galdi, an
investment analyst at Brazilian brokerage SLW. "We can hardly
expect anything else from them." Mr. Galdi said he is no longer
following Mr. Batista's firms, as some of them now attract only
speculators.
Mr. Batista saw his personal wealth collapse as a result of the
financial and operational troubles faced by his group of start-up
firms. One of the richest men in the world just over a year ago,
with an estimated fortune of more than $30 billion, Mr. Batista is
now rushing to try to save at least some pieces of his indebted
group.
All his publicly traded companies, including ones that have
already sold assets, trade in the red against the last 12 months
and some are now penny stocks.
Mr. Batista's oil firm, once the heart of his infrastructure
empire, filed for bankruptcy last month, with $3.6 billion in
international bonds outstanding.
OGX was originally set to release quarterly results on Wednesday
but will now have them out by Nov. 22, according to the regulatory
filing. In the second quarter, OGX posted a loss of some $2 billion
amid disappointing production levels that led the company to
discontinue development of most of its oil fields.
Shipbuilder OSX, which filed for court protection last Monday,
said it expects to have its quarterly numbers sent out to Brazil's
regulator by November 25. OSX's quarterly results were originally
expected to be released Thursday. The company posted a loss of some
$64.5 million in the second quarter.
Mr. Batista's mining firm MMX Mineracao e Metalicos SA
(MMXM3.BR), which hasn't sought court protection, also said the
release of its quarterly numbers is now expected by Nov. 25, due to
the independent auditing process as well as the review of its
business plan. MMX posted a loss of some $190 million in the second
quarter.
MMX recently signed a definitive agreement to sell a majority
stake in a port in the south of Rio de Janeiro state to Abu Dhabi's
Mubadala Development Co., already a big investor in Mr. Batista's
industrial group, and Dutch international commodity trader
Trafigura Group for $400 million.
Local electric power utility Eneva SA, former MPX Energia SA,
co-controlled by Germany's E.ON SE (EOAN.XE) and Mr. Batista, has
kept its original release date. It is expected to file its
quarterly report Wednesday after the Brazilian financial markets
close.
Write to Luciana Magalhaes at luciana.magalhaes@dowjones.com
