From a billonair to a milionair a joke in real life

Eike Batista's Fortune Continues To Evaporate As MMX Declares $400 Million Loss

As debt owed by Batista’s listed companies has increased, Batista’s companies have not hit revenue and production targets. OGX announced this week that output from its offshore oil wells fell to 11,300 barrels of oil equivalent a day (bpd) in February, from 13,200 bpd in January. February’s figures were 25 per cent below the 15,000 bpd the company had promised to be a “stabilisation” level for its output, according to an investor note from Banco Bradesco BBI. “This is one more disappointment for the market,” said Ariovaldo Santos, a broker with H Commcor in Sao Paulo.  By the same token, iron ore miner MMX announced net loss of $400 million in 2012, 40 times  higher than $10 million loss in the previous year, mainly because of MMX’s withdraw of a large investment from Chile. Such news sent MMX shares into a nosedive on Wednesday: stock prices dropped 7.0% at one point, but finally closed down just 0.94% after CEO Carlos Gonzalez explained in a conference that MMX’s flagship Serra Azul iron ore project in Brazil was being expanded. Also helping Batista’s case was Jose Formigli, head of Petrobras’ exploration and production unit, who announced on the same day that the Brazilian oil giant is considering using a port controlled by one of Batista’s companies.

However, the market has been punishing his companies as they fail to deliver. Below is a look at stock performance from 1/1/13 to 3/19/13:

MPX- down 7.44%

OGX- down 42.69%

LLX-  down 0.83%

MMX- down 28.99%

Even though EBX group’s enterprises total investment between 2011 and 2012 totaled $ 15.5 billion, according to EBX group’s website , most companies of the group still require large amounts of capital injection to hit production targets. Two weeks ago, Batista unveiled a partnership with one of Latin America’s largest investment banks, BTG Pactual, run by Brazilian billionaire Andre Esteves. The main goal: to attract new partners and fresh capital. The market reacted well and shares in Eike Batista’s companies rallied more than 20% the following day. Last Friday, Brazilian daily Valor Economico reported that Batista was about to sell half of his shares of MPX, the group’s energy arm, to German group E.ON for $961 million. “We think that MPX gains by distancing itself from EBX,” JPMorgan Securities analysts led by Gabriel Salas said in a client note on Tuesday.

From February 2012 through February 2013, Batista’s fortune fell at a rate of $50 million a day. If his fortune continues to disappear at the same pace, he won’t even be on the Forbes Billionaires list next year.