A year after bankruptcy, Mirant focuses on reducing debt

<p>Mirant Corp. must focus on reducing its heavy debt as it prepares a reorganization plan and seeks to emerge from bankruptcy, chief executive Marce Fuller said in an interview Monday.</p><p>As the one-year anniversary of the energy supplier's Chapter 11 filing nears, Fuller said the Atlanta-based company's debt is one of its challenges going forward.</p><p>"I would see it as something we would need to get resolved as part of this case," Fuller said.</p><p>Mirant's total debt stood at $11.4 billion when it filed for bankruptcy protection from its creditors on July 14, 2003. This week, its debt was roughly $10.5 billion, said spokesman James Peters.</p><p>Fuller said the company will negotiate with its creditors. She said there have been no discussions about liquidation, and she remains confident Mirant will be able to exit bankruptcy, possibly within 12 months.</p><p>"We will definitely exit bankruptcy," Fuller said.</p><p>The company has gone through many changes over the past year.</p><p>It has shed about 1,000 of its nearly 7,000 positions through attrition, divestiture of assets and layoffs. It also has refocused its energy trading business on hedging and it hired a new chief financial officer, its third in two years.</p><p>Its stock is now traded over the counter, and most of the analysts who regularly followed the company before no longer do. One analyst said through a spokeswoman Monday she had not written a research note on Mirant since February. Mirant no longer has an investor relations department, Peters said.</p><p>The company still must complete its restructuring plan, which must be approved by the bankruptcy court in Fort Worth, Texas. Fuller said Mirant's goal is to finish the plan by the end of the year. She doesn't expect it to include significantly more job cuts.</p><p>"I don't know that I'll ever be able to say we won't do any reductions again," Fuller said. "But, certainly, I wouldn't expect a lot of that."</p><p>On the positive side, Fuller noted that Mirant posted a small profit in the first quarter _ its first since filing for bankruptcy _ and has made progress in reducing costs by renegotiating contracts with clients.</p><p>"It's clear to me we have made a lot of progress with this company over the last year," Fuller said. "I feel good about the way the business is operating right now. Our employees see this as an opportunity to make this company stronger."</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x28656cc)</p>

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