Grana y Montero reports $39.4-MM loss in Q4 on Odebrecht project

LIMA (Reuters) -- Grana y Montero , Peru's biggest construction conglomerate, reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $39.4 million on Friday, citing corruption concerns about its partner that derailed a major project.

The company said it was now working to divest $300 million in non-strategic assets, which would mostly focus on real estate ventures but might also include an infrastructure project.

Grana y Montero wants to quickly pay off more than $300 million in debt and guarantees related to the collapse of Brazilian builder Odebrecht's $5 billion natural gas pipeline contract in which Grana had held a 20% stake.

Peru terminated the contract this week over a missed financing deadline amid a graft scandal involving Odebrecht S.A., capping months of uncertainty that had sank Grana's share value.

Grana's shares extended their losses on Friday, contributing to a drop of about 30% since Odebrecht acknowledged in December that it distributed $29 million in bribes to secure public work contracts in Peru.

Grana said that without the effects from the pipeline project, its net profit would have risen 55% in 2016. Instead, it dropped 90% to 8.6 million soles.

Grana has described its partnership with Odebrecht on the pipeline and other projects as a mistake and said earlier this month that it was weighing its legal options.

Reporting by Mitra Taj; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Lisa Von Ahn and Bernard Orr

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