Ardagh posts cut in first-half pretax losses

The former Irish Glass Bottle Company has posted a narrowing in first-half pretax loss to €2.2 million from €11

The former Irish Glass Bottle Company has posted a narrowing in first-half pretax loss to €2.2 million from €11.73 million.

Ardagh's results include the figures for the demerged non-Irish glass operations for the first two months. The operations were demerged to Ardagh Glass Ltd on Feb 28th.

Turnover for the entities not demerged fell sharply to €1.8 million from €20 million, reflecting the closure of the Ringsend plant. Operating loss for those entities was €960,000 against €1.07 million.

The group said it is in discussions with Ardagh Glass to source a large volume and wide range of glass containers "to enable us to attract business from many of our former Irish customers".

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Ardagh said Ardagh Glass is considering recommissioning a furnace in Germany to provide the necessary production capacity.

The company has net debt of €3.08 million and is still trading at a loss.

"Any prospect of dividend payments to shareholders will depend on our capacity to generate profits from more extensive warehousing use and from increased glass container sales in Ireland," it added.