Ardagh pulls partial IPO

Irish-owned glass and packaging group Ardagh has pulled the planned partial flotation of its metal-packaging business because of “challenging” market conditions, but has said it is ready to launch the IPO as soon as things become calmer.

The Luxembourg-based group, headed by Paul Coulson, had aimed to raise up to €3bn from floating a minority stake in the subsidiary, known as Oressa, on the New York Stock Exchange before the end of this year.

However, in a statement yesterday, management said: “The group has virtually completed its preparations for the IPO of Oressa, but the current IPO market conditions in the US are challenging and, as a result, it does not believe that it would be wise to seek to access the equity markets at this point in time.

“The group plans to keep the situation under constant review and to remain ready to launch the IPO as soon as market conditions are suitable.”

Meanwhile, Ardagh yesterday published its financial figures for the third quarter of the year. The metal-packaging business saw an annualised jump of 18% in revenue to €612m.

On a constant currency basis, the division’s revenue was up by 16%, a rise largely attributable to Ardagh’s expansion in North America.

Revenue in the European metals business was in line with the same quarter last year, when measured on a constant currency basis, the company said.

Revenues in the glass-packaging business grew by 13% on the same period last year, to €849m.

A 19% revenue rise, to €451m, was noted in the North American glass business, while the Glass Packaging Europe unit increased its revenues by 6% to €398m.

On a group-wide basis, Ardagh reported total third-quarter revenues of just over €1.46bn, representing an increase of 11% over the same period in 2014.

Revenue was up by 15% at actual exchange rates and by 7% on a constant currency basis.

Group earnings, on an ebitda basis, amounted to €277m for the latest quarter. This was an increase of 15% over the same period last year.

Glass unit earnings increased by 9%, on an annualised basis, to €177m.

Ardagh, meanwhile, ended the quarter with cash and available liquidity of €585m, an increase of €136m since the end of June, the accounts show.