The ICM company in the construction sector, which belongs to the Erlong group, is facing significant financial difficulties. Its leaders requested the opening of legal recovery proceedings; an approach that provides hope for business continuity. The staff and the entire sector are worried.
Ingénierie Constructions Modernes (ICM), an emblematic company in the building and public works (BTP) sector in Guadeloupe, is in receivership. The Pointe-à-Pitre commercial court examined, Thursday, November 21, 2024, the file of the simplified joint stock company (SAS), in serious financial difficulty.
The company itself filed a request to open this procedure; a step aimed at reorganizing its activity, while benefiting from protection against its creditors. Current economic tensions have undermined its viability, forcing it to take this step.
The hearing provided an opportunity to detail the situation and hear from the different people involved.
Successive economic crises have damaged ICM's activity, starting with the Covid-19 pandemic. This was followed by the war in Ukraine which, to the detriment of construction, caused delays in the supply of materials; the prices of the latter have also increased considerably.
The difficulties were then aggravated by considerable payment delays on the part of certain customers. Projects delivered for a long time suffer from deferred payments; this is particularly the case for the ACTe Memorial, which was again the subject of a partial payment of 500,000 euros barely a month ago.
The list of creditors, owing heavy sums, is relatively long. The total amount expected is colossal.
At the same time, the curve of financial charges has continued to rise.
Despite everything, management remains confident. The order book is full and is therefore promising.
At this stage, there is no question of bankruptcy, insists the president of ICM.
As for employees, their number varies depending on the sites. Up to 300 professionals can be under contract simultaneously. These are all workers whose income depends, in part or entirely, on the dynamic company, which hopes to get out of this bad situation.
The announcement of the setbacks of this key player in the local economy has caused great concern within the Guadeloupean construction sector, where ICM occupies a major place.
ICM, a company with a total of 35 years of activity, is at the origin of numerous remarkable public and private works in the archipelago, notably those of the ACTe Memorial in Pointe-à-Pitre, the Airport Control Tower du Raizet in Les Abymes, the Charles Coeffin high school in Baie-Mahault, the rehabilitation of the military building into a university at Camp Jacob in Saint-Claude, the Baimbridge school complex in Les Abymes and thousands of housing. Sites in Martinique and Guyana are also entrusted to this local builder, renowned for its ability to carry out projects from A to Z, from design to turnkey delivery.
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