Wellington, Dec 19 NZPA - Under threat of a share trading suspension Geneva Finance today filed its late interim result which reveals a $7.7 million loss for the six months to September 30.

The loss was due to $9.4m of additional provisioning for loans on the company's old ledger. The company has $2.9m of tax losses but cannot use them until it makes a profit.

The New Zealand Shareholders Association has been critical of Geneva for keeping a lending team on.

The consumer finance company froze deposits worth $138 million from more than 4000 investors. In April, investors backed a share-for-debt swap reconstruction to keep the company trading.

In October, it increased provisioning, increasing its forecast loss for the year to March 31, 2009 to $4.4m, compared to the $2.7m in the capital reconstruction document and breaching its banking covenants. In November, it said its banker had reconfirmed a $35m funding facility.

Geneva said today that since the capital reconstruction it has met all its obligations, including repayment of $33m principal to stockholders together with interest at each month end.

The company said it has lowered annual overhead costs by $15m per annum.

It was difficult to know the extent to which the current recession would impact on collecting money owed and on new lending, the company said.

NZX said the report for the six months to the end of September was due by last Sunday.

If it was not provided by next Monday, trading in the company's securities would be suspended from the start of trading next Tuesday.

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