Wesfarmers' $1.26bn debt due next year

Shares in Wesfarmers Ltd surged as much as 10 per cent today as the company assured investors it was confident it would be able to repay $1.26 billion worth of debt due in less than a year.

In a presentation lodged with the ASX today, Wesfarmers outlined that a further $1.65 billion in facilities is due by the end of next year while $579 million is due in one to two years time.

In the presentation, which was made to investors in Sydney today, the company said the facilities are "well within all debt covenants".

Wesfarmers borrowed heavily to buy Coles last year for $18 billion in what was Australia's largest takeover.

Shares in the company, which lost 2.4 per cent yesterday despite a 5 per cent market rally, closed up 5.33 per cent or $1.13 to $22.35 after an intraday high of $23.30.

Meanwhile, the company said there was no short-term fix for Coles, saying it will take five year to remedy the "chronic under-investment and infrastructural decay".