PAUL COULSON'S Ardagh Glass might have secured 18 per cent of the European glass market as a result of its acquisition spree of recent years but, judging by its latest accounts, the group has some work to do to establish its green credentials abroad.
Notes to the 2007 accounts, which were lodged recently with the Companies Office here, show that it has made provision for a number of environmental penalties on mainland Europe. In Poland, where it is the number two supplier of glass, it has provided for a "possible" fine of €163,000, compared with €87,000 in 2006. In Germany, where Ardagh is the market leader, it made a provision in its 2007 financial statements of €295,000 and has set aside €150,000 for possible fines in the Netherlands. That's a provision of €608,000 in total.
These form part of €3.9 million worth of "other" provisions in the 2007 accounts and €11.6 million in employee-related charges, much of them relating to its acquisitions.
Ardagh throws off a lot of cash, so the fines won't break the bank. But in this environmentally conscious age, it won't pay to be on the wrong side of the green lobby for too long.
