Ardagh continues to trade at a loss

Ardagh Glass has reported a net debt of €3.08m and continues to trade at a loss after the closure of its Ringsend plant, the company said today.

The glass bottle firm announced in February this year that its non Irish glass operations had been demerged to Ardagh Glass Limited.

In an interim statement today Ardagh said that turnover for the entities not demerged was €1.8m for the six months to June 2003 compared with €20.0m the previous year.

This reflected the closure of the Ringsend plant.

A High Court hearing is listed for December 9 this year to determine whether the company’s existing long term lease from Dublin Port Company is still active.

If this action is successful, Ardagh has indicated that this would secure an additional source of income through warehousing at its former Ringsend’s base.

The company said it was looking to source a large volume and wide range of glass containers to enable them to attract business from many of its former Irish customers.

It is also considering recommissioning a furnace in Germany to provide the necessary production capacity.

Ardagh said that its enamelling operation was now back in full production and was modestly profitable.

It also indicated that its British operation Rockware Glass was already substantially committed to its UK customers.

As a result Rockware has been unable to provide a comprehensive range of product to the Irish market.

"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," the company said.