With the loan, the company intends to pay off a debt of R$1.8 billion, pay suppliers in arrears, in addition to financing a voluntary dismissal program (PDV)
A group of five banks closed a proposal to lend R$12 billion to Correios. The state-owned company is still waiting for the documentation to be sent, which could happen by the end of this Friday, the 12th.
The proposal will still be analyzed by the National Treasury, which will need to be a guarantor of the operation. Caixa, Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, Itaú and Santander are expected to participate in the deal.
The company accumulated losses of R$6.05 billion from January to September this year and is looking for resources to rebalance its accounts. Since 2022, the state-owned company’s losses have reached R$10 billion.
The negotiations gained momentum after Caixa Econômica Federal entered the list of institutions willing to lend the resources, as Coluna do Estadão anticipated.
At the beginning of the month, the Treasury rejected a loan of R$20 billion, the amount initially requested by the state-owned company, after five banks charged interest of 136% on the Interbank Deposit Certificate (CDI) in the operation. The body understood that interest would have to remain within the ceiling of 120% of the CDI established by the Treasury Guarantees Committee.
With the loan, the company intends to pay off a debt of R$1.8 billion, pay suppliers in arrears, in addition to financing a voluntary dismissal program (PDV) and making investments to try to recover space in the parcel market and develop new sources of revenue.
This week, the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, said that negotiations were advanced and that there was a chance for the government to make a contribution to the state-owned company, but that this eventuality would remain within the fiscal framework.
“One way is the contribution that may become necessary if we do not reach an agreement with the pool of banks that will finance the company’s restructuring. We will not be left with a knife in our neck due to misunderstanding on the part of one or another financial institution”, he stated.
According to him, the whole world found a solution to maintain essential state-owned services without privatizing companies. The solution was to add other services in addition to postal services, such as financial products, pensions and insurance.
In the midst of the crisis, the Lula government issued a decree so that non-dependent state-owned companies that are experiencing operational difficulties can present an economic-financial rebalancing plan, including the possibility of future funding from the Treasury.
“The new mechanism creates a structured path for federal state-owned companies to face cyclical challenges without being immediately reclassified as dependent on the National Treasury,” said the Ministry of Management, in a note.
To return to profit in 2027, Correios will have to undergo a restructuring that requires an adjustment of between R$6 billion and R$8 billion in its annual budget, between spending cuts and increased revenue. According to people close to the state-owned company, this is an approximate number to what is being worked on by the company’s current management, and is seen as extremely challenging by analysts.
From 2027 onwards, however, the goal is to return to profit, as the company’s president, Emmanoel Rondon, said in a press conference in mid-October. Therefore, the company will have to act on both ends to rebalance itself: cut expenses and increase revenue.
An adjustment between R$6 billion and R$8 billion is complex, taking into account the forecast savings of R$1.4 billion with the Voluntary Dismissal Program (PDV), for 15 thousand employees announced by the state-owned company, as revealed by Estadão.
As Estadão anticipated, Correios postponed the hiring of those approved in the 2024 competition, which will only take place in 2027.
*Estadão Content
