Milacron loses almost US$15 in Q2
Canadian Plastics
Canadian PlasticsInjection machine and industrial fluids manufacturer Milacron Inc. reported a net loss of US$14.3 million for the s...
Injection machine and industrial fluids manufacturer Milacron Inc. reported a net loss of US$14.3 million for the second quarter of 2006, compared to a net loss of US$3.8 million in the second quarter of 2005, the company announced.
The company also announced that it intends to contribute approximately US$30 million to its pension fund next month, which is expected to have the effect of eliminating contribution requirements in 2007.
Milacron blamed its 2006 second quarter result on US$8.8 million spent in restructuring charges, as well as US$3.2 million for expenses related to the 2006 National Plastics Exhibition (NPE) held in Chicago in June.
Sales for the second quarter 2006 were reported as US$211 million, up slightly from last year’s US$209 million. And Milacron placed almost US$30 million in orders at the NPE, most of which will be confirmed and booked in third quarter 2006.
Milacron also reported US$42 million in cash on hand for the second quarter 2006, as well as approximately US$36 million available for borrowing. This makes for a total liquidity (cash plus borrowing availability) of US$78 million, which is down from US$86 million at the beginning of the quarter.
Ronald D. Brown, Milacron’s chairman, president and CEO, was optimistic about the company’s future. “The two most encouraging accomplishments for Milacron during the [second] quarter were our success at NPE and our progress in the restructuring of our plastics business,” he said. “At the show, we reinforced our leadership position in the industry as ‘the one-stop-shop’ for plastics processing[and] we have made solid progress in the restructuring of our mold technologies and European machinery business over the past three months. This is a major step in our objective to return the company to profitability in 2007.”
Milacron’s pension fund announcement comes in anticipation of legislation extending current rules governing pension funding for 2006 and 2007 plan years. The company plans to raise the bulk of the pre-payment amount through the liquidation of investments for non-qualified retirement plans for executives, and through the sales of various non-core, non-operating assets such as redundant land, facilities and equipment.
Milacron has corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio; the company’s Canadian facility is located in Mississauga, Ont.