Rolast in the red

Rubber parts maker Rolast Pitesti concluded the first nine months of the year with 370,000 million euro losses compared with 240,000 million euro profits for the period January to September 2003. Company turnover reached 15.7 million euros, down from the 16.7 million euros achieved for the first three quarters of last year. This year’s S&R budget projects a 917bn ROL (22.3 million euros) turnover and 38bn ROL (920,000 million euros) net profits. Company officials could not be reached for comment on the results. Rolast primarily makes conveyor belts for the mining industry and rubber parts for the automotive and chemical industries. One of its main clients is Dacia Renault, which accounted for around 10% of sales last year. In recent years Rolast has faced increasing competition from Asian markets, mainly from Chinese and Indian manufacturers. The company is 85% owned by three foreign investment funds that have carried out several restructuring programmes to boost its value with a view to making an exit. ZF