The US-based Anchor Glass Container Corporation has reported a net loss of US$ 66.0 million for the year ended 31 December 1995 compared to a net loss of US$ 98.0 million for 1994. Included in these r…
The US-based Anchor Glass Container Corporation has reported a net loss of US$ 66.0 million for the year ended 31 December 1995 compared to a net loss of US$ 98.0 million for 1994. Included in these results is a 1995 first quarter pre-tax charge of US$ 10.3 million and a 1994 fourth quarter pre-tax charge of US$ 79.5 million for the company“s restructuring programme. Excluding the effect of the restructuring charges, the loss for the year ended 31 December 1995 would have been US$ 55.7 million compared to a loss of US$ 18.5 million for 1994. Net sales for the year ended 1995 were US$ 956.6 million (US$ 1.09 billion in 1994). The company reported a net loss of US$ 33.6 million for the quarter ended 31 December 1995, compared to a loss of US$ 17.4 million before restructuring charges for the same period of 1994. Net sales for the quarter ended 31 December 1995 were US$ 205.6 million (US$ 243.1 million). Anchor Glass, has also announced that it is to sell its glass container plant in Waukegan, Illinois, US, to PQ Corporation. PQ plans to convert the plant into its largest sodium silicate operations in North America, and expects to have liquid sodium silicate and sodium silicate glass production on line by the end of 1996. Output will come on stream in stages as the market requires, PQ says, with ultimate capacity of 900 million pounds per year. PQ says it is adding the large plant to sustain growth and serve customers in the US“s Midwest regions. The Midwest silicates market is currently tight, Mr. Luceri says, with about 1.5 billion pounds of silicate capacity in the region and only 100 million pounds less demand. Current US merchant demand for sodium silicate is about 3.5 billion pounds. Mr. Luceri says economies of scale at the new silicate plant will allow PQ to pursue consumers that might benefit by switching to a supply arrangement with PQ. For instance, Rhone-Poulenc Inc. recently started a new 45-million-pound precipitated silica facility in Illinois, US, and PQ has a contract to supply their silicate needs.