Carriers and underground carriers manufacturer Astra Vagoane Arad managed to reach net profit standing at 15.58 billion lei on the first quarter of this year, an evolution occurring after three years of losses.
"Result posted for the first part of this year can be seen as the effect of tight restructuring measures, which have been enforced with great difficulty," Liviu Bobar, general manager of Astra Vagoane Arad, told Ziarul Financiar.
Last year, the Arad-based company posted total revenues worth 346.10 billion lei, amid losses standing however at 46.15 billion lei, almost matching losses registered during the previous year. The company has not granted any dividends on the last three years.
Astra Vagoane has faced quite a difficult period during the first part of this year. The company's officials decided in February to freeze activities on a two-week period.
Nevertheless, Astra Vagoane might however benefit from a breath of oxygen in case the contract between the Transports Ministry and the Swedish company AD Trans, which stipulated a production of 108 underground carriers for Metrorex, should be effectively kick-started.
"We participated, beside the Swedish company, in the sealing of the contract, which stipulates that carriers are to be assembled in Romania and up to 30 percent of components should derive from Romanian plants. The effect over Astra Vagoane will be a major one, at the level of over ten million dollars," Bobar also specified.
The company increased its share capital at the beginning of the year by almost 20 billion lei, from 74.81 billion lei. At present, Astra Vagoane has a share capital worth 93.44 billion lei, divided into shares with a face value standing at 1,000 lei. Its significant shareholding structure includes, according to the latest report of the National Securities Commission (CNVM), the US company Trinity Industries Inc., holding the majority stake, of 66.63 percent of stock and the State Ownership Fund (SOF), which owns a stake of almost 20 percent in stock of Astra Vagoane. The US company acquired in March last year the stake of 70 percent in stock SOF owned in Astra Vagoane Arad for the sum of 50 million lei and it was to invest another 50 million lei. Following this operation, Trinity tried to buy the rest of stock that was traded on the market, through a public buying offer placed during the period November 23-December 17 1999. However, the operation failed.
Trinity Industries annually produces 30,000 carriers, has turnover worth three billion dollars and a share capital of two billion dollars.
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