Unpaid CFR debts drag Apcarom's profit down

Railway equipment producer VAE Apcarom posted a net profit worth 2 million RON (0.58 million euros) in the first six months of the year, a 42% drop against the profit in the similar period of last year. The company managed to turn a profit in the second quarter of the year, after it had seen losses worth 1.48 million RON (0.4 million euros) at the end of March. Apcarom posted revenues worth 24.7 million RON (about 7 million euros) in the first six months of the year, a 14% drop against the January-June period of 2005. The company management says the slump in the profit is due mainly to CFR (The Romanian Railway Company), its main customer, falling behind with its payments to Apcarom. The company has not signed the annual contract with the CFR so far, according to Apcarom officials. “CFR’s debts to us have hit a record high, reaching 22 million RON (over 6 million euros). These are debts for the last fiscal year and for work conducted over the course of this year (…),” explained Vintila Mocanu, the general manager of VAE Apcarom.