Under the management of Al-Arrab losses piled up to 381 million lei (EUR86 million) and the owners have laid off 1,700 of the 2,500 employees so far. They also sold Electroputere piece by piece, including the locomotive division, its core business, despite promising to turn the company into “a world giant” upon privatization.
“I haven’t seen any attempt to restructure this company. The only interest in Electroputere might come from a strategic investor that brings know-how and a plan to turn the company around,” says Adrian Danciu, general manager of asset manager Broker Cluj.
“As long as the company is operating at a loss I don’t see any reason why a financial investor should buy stock in it.”
The value of Electroputere’s shares has halved in the past three months after the company posted RON29.6 million loss in the first half, while revenue stood at RON56.9 million.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)