Ardagh's full-year results show that the company's international glass business, which was recently spun off to a private company, posted a 23 per cent rise in operating profits to €32.9 million last year.
By contrast, the remainder of the company's business, including its Irish glass business - which closed with the loss of 375 jobs in July last year - recorded a trading loss of €2.9 million.
The demerged business, which includes the British and Italian glass businesses, reported a 13 per cent rise in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to €74.2 million. Turnover was up by nearly 9 per cent to €288 million.
"This is a very satisfactory performance which reflects the effect of improved market conditions on margins and the inclusion of the Italian operations in the second half of 2002," Ardagh said.
Following a controversial privatisation process last year, the profitable international glass-making operations were hived off from Ardagh last Friday to a private company incorporated in Guernsey.
Shares in Ardagh fell by 95 cents to €0.55 yesterday as the stock reflected the demerger.
Ardagh has also taken a non-cash charge of €30.7 million because of the demerger.
This relates to a requirement to write down the value of the net assets of the demerged business to their value based on the cash alternative of €1.10 offered to shareholders who chose not to invest in the private company.
As a result, the demerged operations recorded a pre-tax loss of €18.2 million.
Ardagh's remaining businesses reported a pre-tax loss of €12.0 million, reflecting the cost of closing the Ringsend plant and redundancy payments of €12.2 million.
This brought Ardagh's pre-tax loss for 2002 to €30.2 million compared to a pre-tax profit of €2.4 million a year earlier.
Following the closure of its Ringsend facility, Ardagh's remaining business consists mainly of agency sales of product sourced from other manufacturers.
The company, which remains publicly quoted, is also involved in a legal dispute over its right to change the use of its warehousing capacity at the Ringsend site.
The dispute with Dublin Port Company, from whom the site is leased, is expected to reach the courts this summer, Ardagh said.
