Light: President Octavio Pereira Lopes resigns – 05/04/2023 – Market

In financial difficulties due to the volume of debts contracted in recent years, Light faces a new challenge with the resignation of its CEO.

In office since August 2022, Octavio Pereira Lopes presented his resignation letter on Tuesday (4), according to minutes of the meeting of the board of directors released by the company this Wednesday (5).

In his place, Alexandre Nogueira Ferreira, who was already a member of the company’s executive board, takes over to fulfill the remainder of the mandate, scheduled to end on August 31, 2024.

Despite the resignation, Pereira Lopes, who is the founder of Equatorial Energia, was elected at the meeting to occupy the presidency of Light’s board of directors.

The electricity company is going through a delicate moment and sees its shares sinking around 60% on the Stock Exchange in the accumulated result for the year, having retreated 2.5% in the trading session this Wednesday.

At the end of January, Light informed that it had contracted the services of Laplace, known for restructuring companies with financial problems, among them the operator Oi.

Subsequently, the main credit risk rating agencies, Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, downgraded the company’s rating.

In a conference call on March 29, Pereira Lopes stated that Light has started conversations with creditors to renegotiate debts and, in parallel, is trying to bring forward the renewal of its distributor’s contract with “differentiated” treatment for particular issues in its concession area. At the time, he said he saw a challenging scenario ahead for Light to be able to restore its economic and financial balance.

The company, which distributes energy in 31 municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, has been suffering not only from structural issues in its concession, such as a persistently high rate of energy theft, but also from a billionaire cash outflow due to the return of tax credits to consumers. power.

Also contributing to heighten distrust is the fact that Light has businessman Carlos Alberto Sicupira among its largest shareholders, also a reference shareholder in Americanas, a retailer in deep crisis. Sicupira is a partner of the 3G group, along with Jorge Paulo Lemann and Marcel Telles.

At the end of March, the company’s generation, commercialization and new business director, Alessandra Genu Dutra Amaral, had already resigned from her position.