Battling Bankcruptcy, Spain's Abengoa Posts 1.2 bn Euro Loss

Troubled renewable energy giant Abengoa on Tuesday posted a full-year loss of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3) for 2015, a month after unveiling plans to avoid becoming one of Spain's biggest bankruptcies. 

The Seville-based company reported the loss a year after posting a net profit of 125 million euros, an increase of 24 percent compared with that of 2013. 

The world player in solar and wind power, biofuels and water management had in November announced it was close to bankruptcy following years of unsustainable expansion. 

It filed for protection from creditors and has until March 28 to find a solution to its colossal debt, which stands at nine billion euros at least.

By December 31, Abengoa's debt stood at 9.395 billion euros, down by 888 million euros from a year earlier.

Turnover fell to 5.7 billion euros compared with 7.1 billion in 2014, while operating income fell by 63.4 percent to 515 million from 1.4 billion in 2014. 

In a statement, the group highlighted a "general slowing down, or even paralysis in some cases, of all of Abengoa's activities since the start of August, and particularly in the last quarter of 2015." 

In January, the firm announced a recovery plan which would involve selling its assets in the biofuels sector and focus on its engineering and construction activities. 

Last year, 86 percent of its turnover was generated outside of Spain.

Spanish unions and politicians are increasingly concerned about the fate of the 70-year-old firm, which employs 28,700 people around the world, including 7,000 in Spain.