The figures published by the global packaging group Ardagh are for the Dublin-registered Ardagh Packaging Holdings Ltd, which is ultimately owned by the Luxembourg company Ardagh Group SA.
The group, which has its origins in the Irish Glass Bottle Company, has massive revenue but equally massive debts.
Revenue for the first nine months of 2014 was €3.56 billion, with net debt at the end of the period of €4.8 billion.
The publication of the group's latest interim results is part of the preparations for its launch on the New York Stock Exchange, which chief executive Niall Wall told investors is still on track for late next year. It is also a reflection of the extent of the interest there is in the group from those who have lent it money.
The objective of the initial public offering (IPO) is to bring in funds to help lower debt. The main shareholders – Wall, Paul Coulson (pictured), Yeoman Capital, management and staff and others – look set to maintain significant stakes in the the group, which packages a huge range of products including John West salmon, bottled Budweiser beer and Lynx aerosols.
Along with its results yesterday, the group announced further financing moves that it said would significantly reduce future interest costs.
Earlier this year, over a two-month period, the group refinanced $4.2 billion, saving itself annual interest costs of $90 million. It has also rescheduled the dates on which its major debt repayments fall due, so that the material dates are now as far back as 2019. That takes pressure off in the run-up to the IPO.
As well as turnover and debt, the group reported pretax losses of €2 million for the third quarter, and €269 million for the first nine months of 2013.
At constant currency, group ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) margin for the quarter was 18.3 per cent, up from the 17.7 per cent recorded in the same period last year.
