Debts put Oltchim in the red

Chemical plant Oltchim Ramnicu Valcea has managed to make profit from its core business in Q1 this year, after a long time of losses. Its financial expenses, however, turned the operating income into losses. Still, the losses were six times lower than in the same time last year. Oltchim this way concluded the first quarter with 37.9bn ROL ($1.1 million) operating income, compared with the 44.5bn ROL ($1.4 million) operating loss in the same time last year. The total loss amounted to 21bn ROL, down from the 120bn ROL in 2002. “The first two months of the year, before the start of the war in Iraq, brought along a higher demand from the Turkish market, our top export outlet. The war in Iraq has pushed demand down and the market has not rebound yet,” Vasile Mandica, economic manager of the plant said. Oltchim’s exports account for about two thirds of its turnover, and exports to Turkey account for nearly half of the total exports. ZF