Argus loses 1.8m euros in six months

Vegetable oil producer Argus Constanta posted losses worth 6.4 million RON in the first half of this year, in stark comparison to a profit worth 100,000 RON (some 28,000 euros) in the similar period of last year. According to company management, steep competition on the vegetal oil market is the reason behind the firm posting losses, as it drove in vegetable oil prices down below production costs. Consequently, turnover of the vegetable oil producer has fallen 23% in RON, reaching 48.9 million RON (13 million euros). “Argus’ results are in line with the general trend of the market, with many companies seeing negative margins in this period. The raw material was acquired at prices that, given the final prices for which the end-products were sold, proved unprofitable; instead, they led to negative margins,” the firm explained in the half-year report, sent to the Stock Exchange on Monday. “The market of finished products, where the competition pushed dumping prices, also contributed to this situation,” the company’s representatives added in the report.