Poland's JSW needs over $830 million to stay afloat, says minister

WARSAW, ‌Dec 15 (Reuters) - Polish coking coal producer JSW needs 3 ‍billion ‌zlotys ($834 million) of liquidity to keep operating next year, ⁠the state assets minister ‌said on Monday, adding the company was considering loans from commercial banks and a government fund.

JSW, the European Union's largest ⁠producer of coking coal used in steelmaking, has been hit by falling ​prices and high wage costs, and is ‌working on a restructuring ⁠plan.

If approved, the plan could save billions of zlotys on wages, estimated by Erste analyst Jakub Szkopek at ​7.1 billion zlotys per year.

The state-controlled company has already cut investments and spent almost all of its rainy day fund, which has shrunk from nearly 5 ​billion ‍zlotys at the end ​of 2022 to around 100 million in October.

JSW reported a net loss of 796.3 million zlotys for the third quarter, widening from a 315.3-million-zloty loss a year earlier.

"The restructuring plan for JSW is ready. The company is ⁠intensively negotiating to secure commercial financing from the international market," Wojciech Balczun told ​reporters.

"Market responsiveness is high. At the same time, we are negotiating a loan from the Restructuring Fund. JSW needs almost 3 billion zlotys to ‌ensure its liquidity for the next year."

($1 = 3.5956 zlotys)

(Reporting by Marek Strzelecki and Anna Koper. Editing by Mark Potter)