A SUBSIDIARY of the restructured Quinn Group has been “permanently relieved” of €794 million of debt owed to related parties according to the first set of financial results for Quinn Manufacturing Group Holdco Ltd.

The financial statements for the group – which includes four key divisions: container glass, construction industry supplies, plastics and packaging, and radiators – show an overall reduction in debt of €913 million resulting in a net debt at the end of 2011 of €469 million.

The manufacturing group reported a turnover for the 12 months to December 2011 of €628.6 million – down 2.6 per cent on corresponding figures for 2010.

The manufacturing group has attributed the fall to a “market decline in construction-related products”.

It registered an operating profit before exceptional items and impairment charges of €24.2 million for 2011.

Mike McTighe, who was appointed chairman of Quinn Manufacturing Group Holdco Limited in March, said the priority for its board during 2011 had been to “restructure and refinance” the group’s debt to a sustainable level.

The first set of results show the manufacturing subsidiary registered an overall pretax loss of €44.3 million last year.

This represents an improvement on the 2010 loss which stood at €175.7 million.

During the year, the manufacturing group received capital contributions of €152 million from Quinn Insurance Ltd.

The group also highlights that there was a “strong cash inflow” from operating activities – these totalled €55.2 million last year.

It also highlighted that its balance sheet by the close of December 2011 showed net assets of €299.1 million – compared to a 2010 deficit of €424.9 million.

Mr McTighe said the group now had its own “ring-fenced financing arrangements in place”.

This includes a five-year committed lending facility which is in place until December 2016 and which the group believes will “facilitate capital expenditure and underpin business development”.

According to Mr McTighe the current focus for the board is “the stabilisation of the business and the execution of the turnaround of the manufacturing group”.

He said that this would drive the achievement of its key objective which is to place the manufacturing group in a position to “repay/or refinance its loans in advance of them falling due”.

Mr McTighe has warned that any turnaround however is likely to be “challenging and will take time”.