OPERATING LOSSES at Rusal Aughinish last year topped $40 million in spite of the company increasing turnover by 25 per cent to $664 million.
In accounts just filed to the Companies’ Office by Limerick Refinery Alumina Ltd and subsidiaries, whose main activity is the production and sale of alumina, the company recorded a pretax loss of $37.3 million in 2008 after securing a pretax profit of $614,000 in 2007.
In 2007 the ownership of the refinery passed into the control of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska after it was purchased by United Company Rusal from Aughinish Alumina’s previous owners, Swiss trading firm Glencore.
This year management at the Limerick plant placed workers on shorter working hours in response to a drop in demand and price for aluminium and alumina.
Currently, Rusal – which is the world’s largest aluminium producer – is seeking to restructure $7.3 billion in foreign debt.
In a note attached to the accounts, Limerick Refinery Alumina Ltd’s auditors KPMG state: “The outcome of the UC Rusal Group’s restructuring negotiations with the lenders, which are currently ongoing, represents an uncertainty that may cast doubt on the group’s ability and hence the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The directors are of the view that continued funding will be made available to the UC Rusal Group by the lenders.”
The filings show that the company has accumulated profits of $234 million, with total shareholder funds of $288 million.
