Ardagh Group takes $34m hit from May cyberattack

Ardagh Group said that a cyberattack on the packaging group in May led to a $34 million (€28.6 million) overall financial hit, including at its beverage cans unit that is set to float separately on the New York Stock Exchange this week.

The glass and metal containers giant said on May 17th that it was hit by a cyberattack that forced it to shut down some of its systems as a precautionary measure.

The group’s Ardagh Metals Packaging (AMP) unit, which is on the cusp of floating in its own right on Thursday, reported last week that its parent had compensated it for a $15 million cost it had to endure as a result of the attack.

However, the wider Ardagh Group confirmed on Tuesday, as it reported quarterly results, that the total cost came to $34 million.

Smurfit Kappa buys Italian containerboard mill for €360m

---

New manufacturing orders set record high for third successive month

---

Unilever’s profit margins hit by rising costs

---

Losses increase to €42.62m at Glen Dimplex Dublin unit after restructuring charge

---

"Key systems have now been brought back online securely in a phased manner and in line with our plan," said Ardagh Group, which is led by Irish financier Paul Coulson. "Production at all of our manufacturing facilities continued to operate throughout this period, though we experienced some shipping delays as a result of this incident."

Ardagh Group’s revenue for the second quarter rose by 17 per cent to $1.87 billion on the year, amid rising demand for sustainable packaging, while its earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) jumped 20 per cent to $325 million.

Floating

AMP, led by chief executive Oliver Graham and chaired by Mr Coulson, is floating on the stock market by way of a merger with a so-called blank-cheque company, called Gores Holdings V, which raised $525 million in an initial public offering (IPO) last year to do deals. The tie-up to create a group with an enterprise value of $8.5 billion is set to be completed on Wednesday.

Ardagh Group will receive a $3.3 billion payment once the deal is completed and will retain a stake of about 82 per cent in AMP, Mr Coulson told analysts on a call on Tuesday.

The figures are marginally off previous guidance that the cash transfer would be $3.4 billion and stake would be 80 per cent.

Ardagh Group, which has a separate New York listing, is expected in time to offer its investors the chance to swap their stock for AMP shares. The listing of the metals group is aimed at taking advantage of the fact that such business are attracting higher valuations than glass businesses on the market.