* Q2 pretax loss 1.8 bln euros on writedowns
* In talks about fresh financing with banks
* Aims for 300 mln euros in asset sales; market difficult
(Adds analyst, CEO comments)
By Boris Groendahl
VIENNA, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Troubled Austrian real estate
group Immoeast <IMEA.VI> is in talks with its banks to raise
fresh funds and extend existing credit lines after writedowns
drove it to a hefty second-quarter loss, it said on Thursday.
The group, which is also seeking to raise 300 million euros
by next spring from asset sales, posted a 1.8 billion euro ($2.7
billion) pretax loss in its second quarter to October, down from
a 185 million euro profit a year earlier.
One of emerging Europe's biggest developers, with property
valued at 4.5 billion euros at the end of October, Immoeast had
said on Monday it would write down assets to the tune of 1
billion euros as well as report a 510 million euro loss on
financial instruments.
On top of that, it also made a 294 million euro provision in
the second quarter for expected future losses, it said on
Thursday.
Immoeast, majority-owned by another troubled developer --
Immofinanz <IMFI.VI> -- said its main challenge was still to
secure liquidity, by selling assets, halting development
projects and through talks with the group's creditor banks.
New Chief Executive Eduard Zehetner, who doubles as new
chief financial officer of Immofinanz, told Reuters the group
would rather raise funds from its banks than be rushed into
selling assets in a depressed market.
"We need the deal with the banks insofar as selling is of
course difficult in this environment. We don't want to sell at a
loss," he said in a telephone interview.
Immofinanz and Immoeast on Monday presented a restructuring
plan to a group of six creditor banks -- UniCredit's <CRDI.MI>
Bank Austria, Erste Group Bank <ERST.VI>, Raiffeisen Zentralbank
and Germany's WestLB, Helaba and Eurohypo.
"Intensive discussions with the group's financing banks over
additional project financing and/or the extension of existing
credit facilities are in progress," Immoeast said.
ASSET SALES
The group was however also aiming to raise 300 million euros
through asset sales by the end of its business year in April, it
said. Assets it had divested in the past weeks were all sold at
close to their appraised values, Immoeast said.
Shares in the group were little changed at 0.60 euros by
1218 GMT on Thursday. They have risen 20 percent since Monday's
news on writedowns and after the group said its banks were
reviewing a restructuring plan.
"The market expected the new management would come in and
find a bunch of things that needed to be cleaned up, and that's
what they are doing now," said Wood & Co analyst Igor Muller.
"And that's good because you see where the real value is."
Muller said that ,according to his calculations, even a
liquidation of Immoeast would yield around 1.80 euro per share
for shareholders -- three times the current market value.
Shares in Immoeast and parent Immofinanz have dropped by
around 95 percent this year and both trade at less than 10
percent of their net asset value -- which Immoeast calculated at
7.95 euros per share after the writedowns.
(Additional reporting by Christian Gutlederer; Editing by
John Stonestreet and Hans Peters)
