Bathroom-specialized corporations Inus entered corporate rehabilitation proceedings (formerly court receivership) after a prolonged slump in the construction and real estate markets.
Inus is a company that started as the ceramics business unit brand of IS Dongseo, founded in 1975. It has focused on tiles, sanitary ware, and bidets. It launched as an official brand in 2004. In September 2020, IS Dongseo, after partitioning Inus as a physical division, sold 100% equity for 217 billion won to E&F Private Equity (PE).
According to legal sources, the 11th Bankruptcy Division of the Seoul Bankruptcy Court (presiding judge Director General Park So-young) issued a comprehensive stay order on Inus the previous day. This followed Inus applying to the court for corporate rehabilitation proceedings on the 14th.
A comprehensive stay order is a measure to protect corporations asset before the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings by barring the disposal of property or repayment of debt without court approval and prohibiting creditors' provisional seizures and injunctions.
Inus applied for corporate rehabilitation proceedings because its performance deteriorated as the slump in the construction and real estate markets dragged on.
According to last year's Inus audit report, sales were 137.7 billion won, down 34% from the previous year (209.2 billion won). Operating profit of 2.3 billion won turned to an operating loss of 17.8 billion won last year. Net loss widened from 12.9 billion won to 32.1 billion won.
The liquidity situation is also challenging. Last year, Inus' current liabilities were 161.8 billion won, about 38.7 billion won higher than current assets, including cash and cash equivalents (123.1 billion won). Without external financing, it means it would be difficult to repay liabilities even if all assets were sold.
The external auditor also expressed a "disclaimer of opinion," questioning the company's ability to continue as a going concern. The reason was severe uncertainty facing Inus and the inability to obtain sufficient audit evidence.
An Inus official said, "Inus is pursuing practical measures on multiple fronts, such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and asset sales, to graduate early from rehabilitation proceedings," adding, "We will prioritize maintaining employment for executives and employees and minimizing harm to partner companies."