Micro Focus to repay $150m of debt after scrapping dividend

Micro Focus International said it would use $150m (£123m) of cash reserves to pay off debt after cancelling its final dividend for 2019.

Announcing the launch of five-year loan facilities to refinance debt, the software group said the dividend, which it withdrew in March, had been cancelled to strengthen its balance sheet during the Covid-19 crisis.

"The board instead intends to use $150m of existing cash reserves to pay down part of the existing senior secured term loan B due November 2021," the company said.

Micro Focus announced a $400m and €400m senior secured loan to partly refinance the senior secured term loan B due for repayment in November 2021. It said the "initial price talk" for the five-year facilities was expected to be 4.50% above Euribor at an original issue discount of 3.0% on the euro tranche, and 4.50% above Libor at an original issue discount of 3.0% on the US dollar-denominated tranche.

The FTSE 250 company said on 19 May it expected revenue to fall by about 11% in the first half after customer orders slowed and projects were deferred during the Covid-19 crisis. It said the impact on earnings would be largely offset by cost reductions.