1997-12-04
Waterford offers to buy rest of German porcelain maker
(APW_ENG_19971204.1520)
1) Waterford Wedgwood PLC said Thursday it was offering about dlrs 60 million to buy the remaining 56 percent of German porcelain maker Rosenthal AG it doesn't already control.
2) Anthony O'Reilly, chairman of the Irish maker of crystal and fine china, said the purchase would help the company extend its reach to continental Europe.
3) Rosenthal recommended that its shareholders accept the offer. Its stock rose 18 percent on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
4) Waterford first acquired a stake in Rosenthal last year. It owns about 31 percent of the company and has an option to buy a 13 percent stake held by Germany's Bayerische Hypobank.
5) O'Reilly is also chairman and chief executive of H.J. Heinz Co., but announced this week that he will give up the chief executive post early next year.
2001-05-29
Genzyme Plans to Expand Production
(APW_ENG_20010529.1168)
1) Genzyme Corp. announced Tuesday it intends to build new manufacturing plants in Framingham and in Waterford, Ireland.
2) The drug company said it will build a 300,000-square-foot recombinant protein manufacturing facility in Framingham, next to its current campus. The company says it will begin construction this fall and hopes to have the plant operating by 2004.
3) In Waterford, the company will convert a 120,000-square-foot facility on a 32-acre parcel to make Renagel, a medication for dialysis patients. The company plans to begin operations there by mid-2003.
4) The company is developing plans to later add a multi-product manufacturing center in Waterford.
5) There was no word on how many jobs the expansion might create or how much the expansion would cost.
2003-06-04
Waterford Wedgwood returns to profit, plans to shift product line to China
(APW_ENG_20030604.0312)
1) Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the luxury crystal and ceramics maker that announced a return to profit Wednesday, said it will shift production of one brand from Britain to China to cope with flagging demand worldwide.
2) The Waterford, Ireland-based multinational, said two potteries making Johnson Brothers tableware _ a brand with its roots in England since 1883 _ should close at a cost of 1,058 jobs. The move to China, it said, would allow the brand's cups and dishes to be produced at a quarter of the expense.
3) Waterford Wedgwood's chief executive, Redmond O'Donoghue, said the firm ``could not continue to sustain the losses which were occurring at Johnson Brothers.''
4) Overall, Waterford Wedgwood reported a pretax profit for the full year ending March 31 of EUR 7.2 million (US$8.5 million), compared to a EUR 53.5 million (US$63 million) loss in fiscal 2002. It pegged the return to profit to its decision to begin slashing jobs and curtailing production in November 2001.
5) After-tax profits were EUR 1.8 million (US$2.12 million), compared to the previous loss of EUR 52.6 million euros (US$62 million).
6) But investors viewed the numbers skeptically. In midafternoon trading on the Dublin Stock Exchange, Waterford Wedgwood shares were trading at 22 euro cents (26 U.S. cents), down one cent since Tuesday _ and less than a third of their value a year ago.
7) Since enjoying record sales and profits in 2000, Waterford Wedgwood has been hit hard by the economic downturn in North America and, in the past year, the surging value of the euro versus the U.S. dollar. The United States is the dominant market for Waterford Wedgwood products, particularly its flagship crystal.
8) ``Given the ongoing global uncertainty, the group has continued to show resilience but is not immune from the impact. Our current focus is to maintain our strong market positions and improve operating efficiencies,'' company chairman Tony O'Reilly said in a statement.
9) O'Reilly, a newspaper baron and the former chairman of Heinz Corp., said the decision to move Johnson Brothers production to China would ``yield important benefits in the coming years.'' The brand accounts for just 8 percent of the group's sales of ceramics.
10) ``A combination of a competitive cost base, innovative product strategy and improved capacity utilization will result in a swift upturn in profitability when demand grows again,'' O'Reilly said of the company overall.
11) The company said Wednesday that ceramics goods accounted for 43 percent of sales, crystal 33 percent, and cookware 13 percent. It said North America generated 51 percent of sales, including 64 percent of all crystal sold, while Europe bought 37 percent, and Asia and Australia a combined 11 percent.
12) Overall, however, sales in fiscal 2003 fell 4.6 percent to EUR 951.3 million (US$1.12 billion) from EUR 997.6 million (US$1.18 billion) in 2002.
13) The Waterford crystal brand in recent years has sought to modernize its image by producing lines from contemporary designers, chiefly Dublin-based John Rocha.
14) At the 220-year-old crystal plant in Waterford, southeast Ireland, 1,500 unionized and highly paid workers have long resisted efforts to shift production to Eastern Europe. _ _ _
15) On the Net:
16) Waterford Wedgwood results, http://www.waterfordwedgwood.com/01in/WWprelims2003.pdf
17) (sp)
Waterford Wedgwood returns to profit, plans to shift product line to China
(APW_ENG_20030604.0342)
1) Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the luxury crystal and ceramics maker that announced a return to profit Wednesday, said it will shift production of one brand from Britain to China to cope with flagging demand worldwide.
2) The Waterford, Ireland-based multinational said two potteries making Johnson Brothers tableware _ a brand with its roots in England since 1883 _ would close at a cost of 1,058 jobs. The move to China, it said, would allow the brand's cups and dishes to be produced at a quarter of the expense.
3) Waterford Wedgwood's chief executive, Redmond O'Donoghue, said the firm ``could not continue to sustain the losses which were occurring at Johnson Brothers.''
4) Overall, Waterford Wedgwood reported a pretax profit for the full year ending March 31 of EUR 7.2 million (US$8.5 million), compared to a EUR 53.5 million (US$63 million) loss in fiscal 2002. It pegged the turnaround to its decision to begin slashing jobs and curtailing production in November 2001.
5) After-tax profits were EUR 1.8 million (US$2.12 million), compared to the previous loss of EUR 52.6 million euros (US$62 million).
6) But investors viewed the numbers skeptically. In midafternoon trading on the Dublin Stock Exchange, Waterford Wedgwood shares were trading at 22 euro cents (26 U.S. cents), down one cent since Tuesday _ and less than a third of their value a year ago.
7) Since enjoying record sales and profits in 2000, Waterford Wedgwood has been hit hard by the economic downturn in North America and, in the past year, the surging value of the euro versus the U.S. dollar. The United States is the dominant market for Waterford Wedgwood products, particularly its flagship crystal.
8) ``Given the ongoing global uncertainty, the group has continued to show resilience but is not immune from the impact. Our current focus is to maintain our strong market positions and improve operating efficiencies,'' company chairman Tony O'Reilly said in a statement.
9) O'Reilly, a newspaper baron and the former chairman of Heinz Corp., said the decision to move Johnson Brothers production to China would ``yield important benefits in the coming years.'' The brand accounts for just 8 percent of the group's sales of ceramics.
10) ``A combination of a competitive cost base, innovative product strategy and improved capacity utilization will result in a swift upturn in profitability when demand grows again,'' O'Reilly said of the company overall.
11) The company said Wednesday that ceramics goods accounted for 43 percent of sales, crystal 33 percent, and cookware 13 percent. It said North America generated 51 percent of sales, including 64 percent of all crystal sold, while Europe bought 37 percent, and Asia and Australia a combined 11 percent.
12) Overall, however, sales in fiscal 2003 fell 4.6 percent to EUR 951.3 million (US$1.12 billion) from EUR 997.6 million (US$1.18 billion) in 2002.
13) The Waterford crystal brand in recent years has sought to modernize its image by producing lines from contemporary designers, chiefly Dublin-based John Rocha.
14) At the 220-year-old crystal plant in Waterford, southeast Ireland, 1,500 unionized and highly paid workers have long resisted efforts to shift production to Eastern Europe. _ _ _
15) On the Net:
16) Waterford Wedgwood results, http://www.waterfordwedgwood.com/01in/WWprelims2003.pdf
17) (sp)
2004-08-10
Wedgwood, Lenox, department stores pay to end probe into charges they restricted competition
(APW_ENG_20040810.0328)
1) A little competition is entering the lucrative world of bridal registries and tableware sales under a settlement announced Tuesday.
2) Two major retailers and two manufacturers were accused of conspiring to restrict competition by the national retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond by keeping the lower-cost chain from selling upscale Lenox tableware and Waterford crystal.
3) Under the settlement announced by state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Federated Department Stores, which operates Macy's and Bloomingdale's; May Department Stores, which owns Lord & Taylor; Lenox Inc. and Waterford Wedgwood agreed to stop the practice.
4) They also agreed to pay $2.9 million in civil penalties to the state of New York.
5) Spitzer said the conspiracy restricted consumers' choice of the products popular in bridal registries. The cost to consumers has not been calculated.
6) "This hurts consumers by preventing the very kind of competition that we depend upon to keep prices down and increase consumer choice," Spitzer said.
7) The case dates to 2001 when Bed, Bath & Beyond sought to introduce Lenox and Waterford products. Federated and May allegedly pressured Lenox and Waterford to pull their products out of the chain's stores.
8) Federated, May and Waterford admitted no guilt in the settlement.
9) Federated "agreed to a $900,000 settlement in order to avoid the potential of protracted court action and the unnecessary distraction to its business that could result from such action," according to a company statement.
10) "We admit no liability and the suit has been settled to both parties' satisfaction," said Sharon Batemen of May.
11) "No further action in the matter will be undertaken by the authorities," said Michael Dennehy, a spokesman for Ireland-based Waterford-Wedgwood.
12) Bed, Bath & Beyond based in Union, New Jerery, now carries Lenox and Wedgwood products "and we continue to expand the mix," said Michael Callahan, a spokesman for the company. He declined to discuss specific allegations by Spitzer.
13) A spokesman for Lenox did not immediately respond to a request from comment.
14) May will pay $800,000, Lenox will pay $700,000 and Waterford will pay $500,000, according to the settlement.
2004-09-07
Waterford crystal, shattered by weak dollar, cuts work for 1,400 staff
(APW_ENG_20040907.0215)
1) Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the money-losing luxury homewares maker, ordered 1,400 workers at its two Irish crystal-cutting plants Tuesday to take cuts in work and pay in response to sluggish sales.
2) Under the plan, workers at the company's Waterford city and Dungarvan plants in southeast Ireland would lose seven weeks' work and pay over the next six months.
3) The company said in a statement its cutbacks were aimed at "reducing inventories through an orderly sell-off of completed stock and a slowdown of manufacturing."
4) John Foley, chief executive officer of the Waterford Crystal division, said the company must invest more in marketing its products, particularly in the United States, which traditionally accounts for about half of crystal sales worldwide.
5) "It is regrettable that the need to introduce these short-time working measures will be the cause of financial hardship for our employees and their families," Foley said. "... I am convinced that this is the right decision and is in all of our long-term interests."
6) Over the past two years, Waterford Wedgwood has been hammered by the weak U.S. dollar, which makes goods less profitable to sell in the United States. In June the group reported a net full-year loss of euro49.3 million (US$59.5 million). In the previous fiscal year it eked out a net profit of euro1.8 million (US$2.17 million).
7) On Tuesday, shares in Waterford Wedgwood were unchanged at 15 euro cents (US$0.18).
2004-10-09
Ireland's Olympics hero withdraws from national TV award after horse fails doping test
(APW_ENG_20041009.0110)
1) Ireland's only medal winner at the Athens Olympics, showjumper Cian O'Connor, withdrew from a nationally televised ceremony Saturday to receive the Irish Person of the Year award _ after his horse failed a drugs test.
2) Ireland reacted glumly to Friday's news that Waterford Crystal, the horse that O'Connor rode to gold Aug. 28, tested positive for traces of a tranquilizing agent in a post-race test.
3) O'Connor was one of four Olympic riders whose horses failed doping tests. He has asked for a second sample to be tested, a possible three-week delay.
4) O'Connor said Waterford Crystal was prescribed a sedative July 22 after suffering a leg injury and being confined to a hydrotherapy unit. His veterinarian insisted that the drug should have left the horse's system long before the Olympics and had no performance-boosting benefit.
5) But Ireland braced itself for its second bitter Olympic aftermath.
6) The Irish Sports Council called it "a major setback for equestrian sport and sport in general in Ireland."
7) The Irish Times, Ireland's newspaper of record, predicted Saturday that O'Connor's explanation would cut no ice with doping chiefs.
8) "Whatever the merits of that case, there is a predictable sequence of events ahead," the newspaper said in an editorial. "If the B sample confirms the initial result, the detail of his explanation is likely to be lost as the story of one of the greatest episodes in Irish sporting history is subsumed into a growing catalog of inglorious Olympic moments."
9) In 1996, swimmer Michelle Smith won three golds and a bronze in Atlanta _ Ireland's greatest Olympics performance ever _ but authorities later ruled her to be a drugs cheat after she avoided a few tests, then spiked one urine sample with whiskey. She kept her Olympics medals but her reputation was left in tatters.
10) O'Connor, 24, is a godson of Sir Anthony O'Reilly, chairman of Independent News and Media, the dominant newspaper publisher in Ireland, and Waterford Wedgwood PLC, which makes the world-famous Irish crystal. O'Reilly has been O'Connor's primary sponsor for the past decade and has bought him several horses, including Waterford Crystal.
2004-10-21
Waterford Wedgwood issues profits warning, seeks takeover of rival Royal Doulton
(APW_ENG_20041021.0398)
1) Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the world-famous but debt-laden maker of luxury homewares, issued a profits warning Thursday as it unveiled a plan to acquire British rival Royal Doulton.
2) Already battered Waterford Wedgwood shares sank 32 percent on the news and closed at euro0.09 (US$0.11). Royal Doulton shares rose 34 percent to 11 British pence (euro0.16, US$0.20).
3) At their annual general meeting in Dublin, company executives said they planned to raise about euro100 million (US$125 million) by offering discounted new stock to shareholders _ five shares costing euro0.06 (US$0.08) each for every three existing shares held.
4) It would be the company's second fund-raising rights issue in less than a year and would allow Waterford Wedgwood to offer 0.12 pounds (euro0.17, US$0.22) per share for Royal Doulton.
5) The offer _ which Waterford Wedgwood said had already involved "advanced talks" between the boards of both companies _ would value Royal Doulton at approximately 40 million pounds (euro57 million, US$72 million).
6) Waterford Wedgwood also warned that profits in its next half-yearly earnings this winter were "likely to be significantly below consensus market expectations." It reported euro356 million (US$448 million) in sales from April to September, 5 percent lower than for the corresponding period last year.
7) "The past three years have been turbulent and we would not deny that the financial performance of the company continues to disappoint us all," said Sir Anthony O'Reilly, chairman of Waterford Wedgwood.
8) Underscoring the company's weakness, credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Waterford Wedgwood to B- and raised concerns that the company might not be able to meet its debts in fiscal 2006.
9) In a statement the agency said a successful acquisition of Doulton would "increase the group's exposure to an industry that is expected to continue to experience very difficult trading conditions." And regardless of whether the deal goes ahead, it noted, "Waterford Wedgwood's already very weak debt-protection measures are expected to deteriorate further."
10) Since 2002 the company has been hit particularly hard by the weak U.S. dollar. North American consumers account for about half of all sales of the company's flagship Waterford crystal.
11) And some analysts said Thursday's move to acquire Royal Doulton PLC smacked of desperation. They said Waterford Wedgwood _ which already owns 21.16 percent of its Stoke-on-Trent, England-headquartered rival _ might opt to shut down the company if it gains control.
12) Between them, Waterford Wedgwood and Royal Doulton dominate the British market for crystal, china and other high-value homewares, but both are struggling to maintain profits in the face of lower-priced wares produced in eastern Europe and Asia. Both companies have already shut own English plants and shifted some manufacturing overseas _ Waterford Wedgwood to China, Royal Doulton to Indonesia.
13) O'Reilly _ who also holds about a 2 percent personal stake in Royal Doulton _ said a takeover of Royal Doulton "would transform Wedgwood."
14) "The benefits of such a deal are immediately apparent. With Royal Doulton's restructuring largely completed, we could add Royal Doulton's revenues to our top-line sales without greatly increasing our costs. This would increase the profitability of the combined businesses," O'Reilly said.
15) Waterford Wedgwood also announced it had refinanced its debt through a new arrangement with a subsidiary of Wachovia Corp. of New York, but offered no details of the terms.
16) In June, the company reported a full-year net loss of euro49.3 million (US$59.5 million) and said its debt stood at euro382.9 million ($460 million), up 7 percent from the previous year.
2004-11-19
Waterford Wedgwood posts heavy operating losses, slight net profit on sale of All-Clad
(APW_ENG_20041119.0224)
1) Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the debt-laden maker of luxury homewares, reported a slight half-year profit but heavy operating losses Friday as it continued to suffer from the weak U.S. dollar.
2) The company said its net profit, including exceptional items, for the April-September period was euro7.6 million (US$9.8 million), compared to a loss of euro42.7 million (US$55 million) over the same period last year.
3) However, Chief Executive Redmond O'Donoghue said the return to net profit was misleading, because it included an exceptional profit of euro103.2 million (US$134 million) from the June sale of All-Clad Metalcrafters, its American cookware manufacturer.
4) "Although market share was maintained, sales in the six months were disappointing," O'Donoghue said. "Our group and our industry continue to face challenging times. While we enjoy market-leading positions in each of our product areas, we accept that these results are not good enough."
5) He said sales fell in the half-year period to euro356 million (US$463 million), down 12.3 percent from euro405.8 million (US$528 million) in the same period last year. This produced an operating loss of euro21.4 million (US$27.6 million), compared to an operating profit last year of euro4.2 million (US$5.4 million).
6) He blamed the fall largely on the continuing strength of the European common currency, the euro, versus the dollar. This undermined profits from sales of the group's flagship crystal in the United States, which accounts for half of all crystal sales.
7) Waterford Wedgwood shares slid further on the news. At midday on the Irish Stock Exchange, shares were 7 percent lower at euro0.06 (US$0.08).
8) Most analysts warned that the company faces a struggle to boost sales and profits with no sign of a stronger dollar. But a minority said the stock was worth a speculative bet given how low it's sunk.
9) "At 6 cents, it's time to step up to the plate and be brave," said Stuart Draper, an analyst at the Dolmen Butler Briscoe brokerage in Dublin.
10) Last month, at the same time that Waterford Wedgwood warned investors to expect poor first-half earnings, it announced plans to raise about euro100 million (US$130 million) by offering discounted new stock to shareholders: five shares costing euro0.06 (US$0.08) each for every three existing shares held.
11) But some Dublin brokerages said Friday's slumping share price meant that Waterford might have to offer the new shares at an even lower price.
12) Waterford Wedgwood hopes that the share offering, which would require approval from shareholders at an as-yet-unscheduled extraordinary meeting, will allow it to purchase a rival luxury tableware manufacturer, Royal Doulton PLC of Britain.
13) Waterford Wedgwood already owns more than 21 percent of Royal Doulton shares and the two companies' directors have been in friendly negotiations for months.
14) Waterford Wedgwood said Friday it had reduced its debt to euro280.7 million (US$362 million) compared to euro429.9 million (US$554 million) a year ago. It paid off some debt thanks to its sale of All-Clad, a Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-headquartered maker of heavy-duty pots and pans, to France's Groupe SEB for US$250 million.
2005-03-11
Shares in Waterford Wedgwood dip over surprise departure of financial chief
(APW_ENG_20050311.0892)
1) Shares in Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the maker of luxury crystal and china, slumped Friday after the debt-laden company announced the surprise departure of its chief financial officer.
2) Paul D'Alton had been in the job less than a year and decided to leave to become chief financial officer of AgCert International Ltd., a start-up company designing systems for measuring the emission of greenhouse gases.
3) Patrick Dowling, the company secretary at Waterford Wedgwood since 1999, became acting chief financial officer.
4) Waterford Wedgwood Chief Executive Redmond O'Donoghue said D'Alton had "been offered an exciting new opportunity."
5) He called Dowling, who previously worked at industrial group Fitzwilton PLC and the Irish operations of Bank of Chicago and Citibank, "a most able replacement."
6) The news sent Waterford Wedgwood shares down 36 percent to just 3 euro cents (4.02 U.S. cents), a new 52-week low, but they quickly recovered. The shares closed down 6.4 percent at 4.4 euro cents (5.92 U.S. cents) _ still a sixth of their value a year ago.
7) Waterford Wedgwood shares have lost half their value since December, when the company issued about euro100 million (US$135 million) in discounted shares to existing stockholders to raise funds for its successful acquisition of rival British china maker Royal Doulton.
8) In November, Waterford Wedgwood reported it had reduced its debt to euro280.7 million (US$362 million) from euro429.9 million in November 2003, but most analysts remain downbeat about the company's prospects.
9) The chronically weak U.S. dollar has hit Waterford Wedgwood hard. Much of the group's sales, including half of its flagship Waterford crystal, is sold in the American market.
2005-03-14
Waterford Wedgwood issues profits warning over poor 2005 sales
(APW_ENG_20050314.0808)
1) Waterford Wedgwood PLC, a world-leading maker of fine crystal and china, issued a profit warning Monday citing poor sales so far this year.
2) The announcement sent the company's already battered shares down 20 percent to 3.5 euro cents (4.7 U.S. cents) on the Irish Stock Exchange, but they recovered most of the lost ground to close at 4.2 euro cents (5.6 U.S. cents).
3) "Sales in January and February have disappointed, particularly February, and were 11 percent down on the same months last year," the Dublin-based company said.
4) Waterford Wedgwood has been hit hard in recent years by the weakening U.S. dollar. North America accounts for much of its business, including about half of sales of its marquee product, Waterford crystal.
5) Chief Executive Redmond O'Donoghue said the company needed to cut costs more in its operations in Ireland and Germany, which could mean reducing jobs. The bottom line, he said, was that Waterford Wedgwood must find a way to attain "sustained profitability at these levels of revenues and these kinds of exchange rates."
6) "Weak demand in January, February and the beginning of March combined with an accelerated inventory reduction program will substantially impact our financial results," he said.
7) The company said it was forecasting a 6 percent decline in sales for fiscal 2004. It said full-year results for the year ending March 31 would be published about June 16.
8) O'Donoghue said the company needed to introduce more contemporary designs to attract more younger consumers.
9) He cited Irish designer John Rocha's minimalist Waterford crystal line, a Wedgwood china collection by Britain's Jasper Conran, and a package of new china, crystal and giftware for the U.S. market by Vera Wang as examples of the way ahead.
10) "Certainly the market is changing and we have to change with it," he said.
2005-05-04
Waterford Wedgwood to cut 1,800 jobs under restructuring program
(APW_ENG_20050504.0467)
1) Luxury homeware producer Waterford Wedgwood PLC said Wednesday that it is cutting 1,800 jobs and closing one of its factories in Ireland as part of a massive restructuring plan aimed at improving its ailing fortunes.
2) The Irish china and glass maker, which acquired Britain's Royal Doulton in December in a bid to compete with low-cost manufacturers in Asia, plans to launch a rights issue to raise euro100 million (US$130 million) to fund the restructuring.
3) The company said it will close the Waterford Crystal plant at Dungarvan, resulting in the loss of 485 jobs. Production of the world-renowned cut glass will move to a more modern facility at Waterford City, where the company employs around 1,000 people.
4) Other jobs will be lost at its German porcelain goods maker Rosenthal and at Royal Doulton, the iconic British company that provided the tableware for the Titanic.
5) Some 160 jobs will be cut at Rosenthal and 200 across the overall Waterford Wedgwood group as a result of cost-savings and the manufacturing changes. A further 950 jobs will be lost as a result of the Wedgwood-Royal Doulton integration savings, but 450 of those workers have already left the business.
6) Waterford Wedgwood said it will employ 9,500 people worldwide following the restructuring.
7) "While I very much regret the job losses, these changes are vital to ensure the long-term prosperity of this historic company and its key heritage plants in Ireland, England and Germany as we face increasing competition from low cost economies in Asia and elsewhere," said Chairman Anthony O'Reilly.
8) "The task is clear but the challenge is great: We must ensure that our cost base matches revenue levels so that the company is returned to sustained profitability," he added.
9) Waterford Wedgwood, formed in 1986 by the merger of the Waterford crystal company with the English-rooted Wedgwood, is increasingly manufacturing its wares in Asia to compete with lower cost competitors. It recently said like-for-like sales dropped 6 percent in the year to the end of March amid falling demand from the United States.
10) The company said it intends to fund the restructuring program with the issue of 1.7 billion new shares at 6 euro cents (8 U.S. cents) each. The stock was up 18 percent at 5 euro cents (6 U.S. cents) in afternoon trading on the Irish Stock Exchange.
11) The company said it expects the restructuring to cost euro90 million (US$117 million), with annualized cost savings expected also to be euro90 million. It added that it expects to achieve further costs savings from the Royal Doulton integration, through changes to manufacturing, retail, administration and warehousing.
12) Goodbody Stockbrokers said the restructuring should help the troubled company in its efforts to return to profitability, assuming "no further deterioration in its operating environment."
2005-06-16
Waterford Wedgwood reports euro159.4 million net loss in fiscal 2005
(APW_ENG_20050616.1012)
1) Luxury crystal and china maker Waterford Wedgwood PLC reported deepening red ink in its full-year results Thursday, citing heavy restructuring costs and a chronically weak U.S. dollar.
2) The company, which is trimming staff and production lines in hopes of returning to profit, reported a net loss of euro159.4 million (US$192.6 million), compared to a euro49.3 million loss in fiscal 2004.
3) Turnover fell 1.4 percent to euro732.6 million (US$885 million) in the fiscal year ended March 31.
4) Chief Executive Redmond O'Donoghue said Waterford Wedgwood was facing "serious challenges" because of weak demand for its goods worldwide and three years of particularly tough margins in the United States, which accounts for 40 percent of group sales.
5) O'Donoghue said sales in the April-June period were 8 percent lower compared to the same period in 2004. The company's performance, he said, "greatly disappoints all of us."
6) But O'Donoghue pointed to several areas where Waterford Wedgwood was turning things around. Its net debt has been trimmed 27 percent over the past year to euro279.4 million (US$337.5 million); it was cutting staff by 1,800 and selling off land at its base in Waterford, southeast Ireland, for euro32.9 million (US$39.7 million); and its order books for this autumn, featuring modern new lines and designs, were strengthening.
7) "Our new product and marketing programs are gaining momentum," he said, specifying the company's agreement to sell its goods at the U.S. chain Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. "Therefore, despite the fact that uncertainties remain, an improved sales trend is anticipated for the second half."
8) And he said a stronger dollar "will retrieve for the group some of the margins eroded by the significant adverse foreign exchange movement." The dollar has appreciated 11 percent versus the euro since striking a record low versus Europe's common currency in December.
9) Market analysts remained skeptical of Waterford Wedgwood's ability to craft a recovery.
10) Its shares on the Irish Stock Exchange slipped Thursday to 5.2 euro cents (6.3 U.S. cents) from 5.3 cents (6.4 U.S. cents) _ right in the middle of an anemic trading range this year of 3 cents (3.6 U.S. cents) to 7.1 cents (8.6 U.S. cents).
11) "Given the scale of last year's losses, it's likely to take some time for the group to return to profitability," said Davy Stockbrokers analyst Joe Burnell.
12) Goodbody Stockbrokers' Neil Clifford said the company failed to back up its forecast of better sales this autumn with sufficient specifics. "We see little in these results at this stage to change our negative stance on the shares," he said.
2005-12-12
Losses grow at struggling crystal, china giant Waterford Wedgwood
(APW_ENG_20051212.0536)
1) Waterford Wedgwood PLC reported growing losses and continued sluggish sales of its china and crystal worldwide in its first-half results Monday, but forecast a turnaround next year and a return to profit by 2007.
2) The Dublin-based company said its net loss for the April-September period was euro94.7 million (US$112.5 million), compared to a net profit of euro12.3 million in the first half of 2004.
3) However, last year's figure included an exceptional euro106.8 million (US$126.9 million) profit from the sale of its American cookware unit, All-Clad Metalcrafters. Excluding this, last year's operating loss was a similar euro94.5 million.
4) Peter Cameron, who was appointed chief executive in October, cited the company's efforts to slash staff, shift production to Eastern Europe and Asia and introduce new, contemporary designs of ceramics and crystal.
5) "This is a business in transition," Cameron said. "When the benefits of all these actions flow through, Waterford Wedgwood's turnaround will have been effected."
6) Analysts and investors weren't impressed. On the Irish Stock Exchange in Dublin, Waterford Wedgwood shares fell 5.3 percent to 5.4 euro cents (6.4 U.S. cents). Over the past year, the stock has traded in a range of 3 euro cents (3.6 U.S. cents) to 6.5 euro cents (7.7 U.S. cents).
7) Waterford Wedgwood said its like-for-like sales fell 7 percent overall, including an 11 percent drop at its Waterford crystal division.
8) "Lower sales volumes, less than optimal throughput for our manufacturing operations and adverse exchange account for the year-over-year change," Waterford Wedgwood said in a statement.
9) Waterford Wedgwood said its overall revenues rose more than 10 percent to euro362.5 million (US$430.9 million), but this figure included its acquisition over the past year of British ceramics maker Royal Doulton.
10) The company said its net debts at the end of September were euro312 million (US$370.8 million), compared to euro307 million a year before.
2006-06-12
Waterford Wedgwood reports 'breathtaking' losses, forecasts recovery in 2007
(APW_ENG_20060612.0447)
1) Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the luxury crystal and china maker, reported a narrower loss from continuing operations and rising sales Monday, but analysts cautioned that the company faced a battle to return to profitability as its net loss widened.
2) For the fiscal year ended March 31, the company said its net loss came to euro190.8 million (US$241.2 million), compared with euro151.3 million in fiscal 2005.
3) Waterford Wedgwood's 2005 results included a euro106.8 million profit from the sale of its U.S. cookwares division, All-Clad Metalcrafters. Excluding that, losses from continuing operations were cut from euro258.1 million.
4) "As breathtaking as those losses are, I think you'll see a significantly better result this year," said Chief Executive Peter Cameron. He forecast that the company could achieve an operating profit before tax and restructuring costs in fiscal 2007.
5) The company said annual sales rose 10.4 percent to euro772.6 million (US$975.4 million) compared to euro699.7 million in 2005. That figure was boosted by the 2005 acquisition of rival British ceramics manufacturer Royal Doulton. Excluding that unit's impact, ceramics sales were down about 6 percent.
6) Sales of Waterford's flagship crystal products fell 6.6 percent to euro206.5 million (US$260.7 million), mainly because of slackening demand in the United States, which accounted for about 40 percent of worldwide sales.
7) Cameron said the company would increasingly focus this year on sleeker, trendier designs of crystal and tableware designed to appeal to younger U.S. consumers. He said the company would roll out this autumn its first sets of wine glasses developed in cooperation with a winemaker, California's Robert Mondavi. "We're going to have a lot of success with that," he said.
8) But analysts say the company _ which reported record sales and profits in 2000, but has suffered massive red ink and cutbacks since _ remains at the mercy of a weak U.S. dollar and flat worldwide demand for luxury table goods.
9) "We believe a pattern of improvement is not yet evident and maintain our hold stance given the ongoing losses and stretched financial position," said John Sheehan, an analyst at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.
10) Cameron sought to downplay fears that the company would pull out of its historic crystal manufacturing base in Waterford, southeast Ireland, in favor of lower-cost sites in Eastern Europe or Asia. The company last year shut down its other Irish plant in nearby Dungarvan and expanded a ceramics manufacturing operation in Indonesia.
11) "We're irrevocably committed to manufacturing at Waterford," he said.
12) Waterford Wedgwood said its 2006 net debt rose 22 percent to euro371.8 million (US$469.4 million). It spent euro56.6 million (US$71.5 million) to compensate more than 2,000 employees laid off in fiscal 2006, up from euro13.2 million the year before.
13) Cameron announced plans to raise an additional euro60 million (US$75 million) from a flotation of shares to existing stockholders, the second year in a row the company has done this to raise cash.
14) He said shareholders would be offered three new shares at euro0.06 (7.6 U.S. cents) each for every 13 shares they currently hold. The company's majority shareholders, Chairman Anthony O'Reilly and deputy Chairman John Goulandris, already committed to buying most of the shares and retain their joint 51.3 percent stake in the company.
15) On the Irish Stock Exchange, Waterford Wedgwood shares initially rose to 5 euro cents (6.3 U.S. cents) but settled back to the day's starting price of 4.5 euro cents (5.7 U.S. cents).
2006-10-12
Struggling crystal maker Waterford Wedgwood reports better U.S. sales, narrowing losses
(APW_ENG_20061012.0891)
1) The red ink is subsiding and sales have stabilized at Waterford Wedgwood PLC, directors of the struggling crystal and china manufacturer told shareholders Thursday.
2) The Dublin-based company told its annual general meeting that sales for the 12 months through September were flat -- an improvement on the previous three years' sliding sales figures -- while sales of its flagship crystal product were up 22 percent in the key U.S. market, which traditionally accounts for half of all crystal sales.
3) "We have the people, we have the product and we have the cost structure to return Waterford Wedgwood to profitability in 2007," Chief Executive Peter Cameron said in a statement.
4) Cameron said Waterford Wedgwood had signed a deal with a property development company to redevelop part of its manufacturing site in Waterford, southeast Ireland, into residential or commercial use -- a money-making move in a country with a long-booming property market.
5) He said the company's losses from October 2005 to September 2006 had "reduced substantially, and we have seen a steady improvement in margins." He declined to offer specific figures in advance of the Nov. 15 publication of Waterford Wedgwood's first-half results.
6) Waterford Wedgwood shares rose 17 percent to 4.9 euro cents (6.1 U.S. cents) on the Irish Stock Exchange in Dublin. The stock this year has traded as low as 2.9 euro cents (3.2 U.S. cents) because of fears over the company's four-year running losses, deepening debts, high labor costs and lackluster sales.
7) Waterford Wedgwood has trimmed staff in Britain and Ireland since 2004 and shifted some production to eastern Europe and Indonesia.
Struggling crystal maker Waterford Wedgwood reports better U.S. sales, narrowing losses
(APW_ENG_20061012.1837)
1) The red ink is subsiding and sales have stabilized at Waterford Wedgwood PLC, directors of the struggling crystal and china manufacturer told shareholders Thursday.
2) The Dublin-based company told its annual general meeting that sales for the 12 months through September were flat -- an improvement on the previous three years' sliding sales figures -- while sales of its flagship crystal product were up 22 percent in the key U.S. market, which traditionally accounts for half of all crystal sales.
3) "We have the people, we have the product and we have the cost structure to return Waterford Wedgwood to profitability in 2007," Chief Executive Peter Cameron said in a statement.
4) Cameron said Waterford Wedgwood had signed a deal with a property development company to redevelop part of its manufacturing site in Waterford, southeast Ireland, into residential or commercial use -- a money-making move in a country with a long-booming property market.
5) He said the company's losses from October 2005 to September 2006 had "reduced substantially, and we have seen a steady improvement in margins." He declined to offer specific figures in advance of the Nov. 15 publication of Waterford Wedgwood's first-half results.
6) Waterford Wedgwood shares rose 18 percent to close at 5 euro cents (6.3 U.S. cents) on the Irish Stock Exchange in Dublin. The stock this year has traded as low as 2.9 euro cents (3.2 U.S. cents) because of fears over the company's four-year running losses, deepening debts, high labor costs and lackluster sales.
7) Waterford Wedgwood has trimmed staff in Britain and Ireland since 2004 and shifted some production to eastern Europe and Indonesia.
2007-01-04
Crystal maker Waterford Wedgwood reports strongest Christmas sales in 5 years
(APW_ENG_20070104.1013)
1) Luxury crystal and china maker Waterford Wedgwood PLC said Thursday it has enjoyed its strongest Christmas sales in five years, particularly thanks to a new line of glasses targeting U.S. wine-lovers.
2) "Our most important brands have shown significant growth," chief executive Peter Cameron said in an update of the company's 2006 trading performance. "I am particularly pleased by the performance of Waterford Crystal, our biggest brand, in North America, our biggest market."
3) The Dublin-based company said December sales of its flagship crystal rose 6 percent versus December 2005 in the United States, which typically accounts for about half of sales. Crystal sales rose 8 percent in the United Kingdom and Ireland over the same period.
4) Meanwhile, December sales of Wedgwood brand ceramics and tablewear rose 10 percent in the United States and 13 percent in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
5) And the performance of the company's recently acquired British china maker, Royal Doulton, also rose -- by 25 percent in British stores and 14 percent in Australia.
6) Cameron cited a new line of crystal wine glasses, marketed in conjunction with U.S. winemaker Robert Mondavi, as proving particularly popular. He said the Mondavi line had "the potential to be the No. 1 choice for discerning wine drinkers in the USA."
7) Since 2001, Waterford Wedgwood has suffered major losses because of high labor costs, the declining U.S. dollar and changing consumer tastes. The company has cut staff, shifted some production to Eastern Europe and Asia, and launched new brands designed to appeal to younger shoppers.
8) In Dublin, Waterford Wedgwood shares quickly jumped 12 percent following the surprisingly good Christmas figures. They rose 1 cent (1.3 U.S. cents) to 8.5 euro cent (11 U.S. cents), a two-year high.
2007-10-11
Crystal king Waterford Wedgwood says sales growing for first time in years
(APW_ENG_20071011.0830)
1) Waterford Wedgwood PLC, Ireland's struggling maker of crystal and china tableware, said Thursday it expects to report lower first-half sales but is strongly rebounding in the run-up to Christmas.
2) The chairman and major shareholder, Sir Anthony O'Reilly, told Waterford Wedgwood shareholders at their annual meeting that the company was enjoying its strongest September sales since 2003 and its order book was 11 percent higher than at the same time last year.
3) O'Reilly cited a 2005 cost-cutting program and shifting china production to Indonesia as key to the turnaround. But he shed no light on whether the company was on course to report a net profit for the first time since 2002.
4) "The sales trends are strongly positive. ... Crucially, prospects for the all-important Christmas period are encouraging," he said.
5) O'Reilly cautioned that the company expects to report 9 percent lower sales for the April-September period. Those first-half results are scheduled for publication Nov. 8.
6) He attributed the drop to a slower-than-planned rollout of extra expenditure on global production and marketing, which didn't happen until July, and sales jumped starting then.
7) O'Reilly and the company's deputy chairman, Peter Goulandris, already own more than half of all Waterford Wedgwood shares. Their holding has grown steadily since 2004, when the company began issuing more than euro400 million (US$560 million) in new shares to drum up sufficient capital to cover mounting debts.
8) O'Reilly said the company hoped to issue another euro100 million (US$140 million) worth of shares soon, most of which he expected to sell to other institutions, while he and Goulandris would buy euro17 million (US$24 million) worth.
9) Waterford Wedgwood has largely completed its May 2005 plan to slash costs by euro90 million (US$130 million) a year, laying off 2,200 employees and shutting a crystal plant in Ireland and a china plant in England. It also shifted china production to a new factory near Jakarta, Indonesia, and took control of an English-based claywares rival, Royal Doulton.
10) O'Reilly said the Jakarta factory had proved crucial because its operations in Indonesia are priced in U.S. dollars, not the euro. Waterford Wedgwood depends heavily on sales in the United States, where its euro profits have been hammered by the weakening dollar.
11) Waterford was founded in 1759 in the southeast Irish city of the same name. It merged with English fine-china specialist Wedgwood in 1986. The combined operation's shares have plummeted a staggering 95 percent since 2002, the last year it reported a net profit.
12) In June, Waterford Wedgwood said its debts had grown 10.9 percent to euro412.2 million euros (US$584.5 million), more than double its stock market value.
13) Waterford Wedgwood's battered shares did rise Thursday to 3.5 euro cents (more than 4.9 U.S. cents) on the Irish Stock Exchange, up from 3.2 euro cents (more than 4.5 U.S. cents). They have traded this year within a band of 2.2-8.5 cents (3-12 U.S. cents).
2007-10-31
Waterford Crystal seeks to cut Irish work force, could shift operations to Slovenia
(APW_ENG_20071031.0857)
1) The crystal division of Waterford Wedgwood PLC, an icon of Irish artisanship, wants to cut its work force in Ireland nearly in half and could shift much of its crystal production to lower-cost Slovenia, labor union officials said Wednesday.
2) The crystal plant in the southeast Irish city of Waterford -- home of crystal production for more than two centuries -- has seen its work force repeatedly pruned since Waterford's high-sales heyday of the 1990s.
3) Company directors want to lay off nearly 400 employees, or 44 percent of the work force, in coming months, officials from the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union, which represents most of the remaining 900 Waterford workers in Ireland.
4) They warned that the Waterford plant was in danger of being reduced to the status of a tourist attraction rather than a serious manufacturing site.
5) Waterford Wedgwood declined to comment on the union's claims, saying negotiations on making the factory more cost-effective had just begun and would take days to resolve.
6) The chairman and top shareholder, Sir Anthony O'Reilly, told the annual general meeting Oct. 11 that the company was about to launch a final round of restructuring in hopes of returning it to profit following years of deepening red ink.
7) The company has issued more than euro400 million (US$580 million) in new shares in the past four years to fund layoff packages, plant shutdowns and other restructuring costs.
8) Waterford Wedgwood has declined to confirm or deny Irish media reports that the company is negotiating with Steklarna Rogaska d.d., a glass manufacturer based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to shift more production lines from Waterford to the central European country. The Slovenian company already produces one Waterford-branded line of hand-cut crystal, Marquis.
9) Waterford Wedgwood, the world's top-selling maker of crystal and fine china, has struggled to survive in recent years because of changing consumer tastes, lower-priced competition from Asian-based producers, and lost profits because of the collapsing value of the U.S. dollar. The United States traditionally accounts for at least half of worldwide Waterford sales.
10) "Waterford Wedgwood is doing its best to contemporize its products, to appeal to younger tastes -- to people who want, for instance, to be able to put their tableware into dishwashers without damaging it -- but the company is under pressure from all directions," said Philip O'Sullivan, an analyst at Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin.
11) The crystal division shut its other Irish plant two years ago and increasingly has looked to shift production overseas, including to Brazil, where Waterford-branded wine glasses are produced. Some Wedgwood ceramics, meanwhile, are being produced in a new plant near Jakarta, Indonesia, rather than in their traditional English home.
12) Waterford was founded in 1759 in the southeast Irish city of the same name. It merged with English fine-china specialist Wedgwood in 1986. The combined operation's shares have plummeted a staggering 95 percent since 2002, the last year that delivered a net profit.
13) Waterford Wedgwood's battered shares, long reduced to penny-stock status, rose a fraction of a cent Wednesday to 2.8 euro cents (4.05 U.S. cents).
14) In June, Waterford Wedgwood reported debts rising 10.9 percent to euro412.2 million ($584.5 million), more than double its stock value.
Waterford Crystal seeks to cut Irish work force, could shift operations to Slovenia
(APW_ENG_20071031.1020)
1) The crystal division of Waterford Wedgwood PLC, an icon of Irish artisanship, wants to cut its work force in Ireland nearly in half and could shift much of its crystal production to lower-cost Slovenia, labor union officials said Wednesday.
2) The crystal plant in the southeast Irish city of Waterford -- home of crystal production for more than two centuries -- has seen its work force repeatedly pruned since Waterford's high-sales heyday of the 1990s.
3) Company directors want to lay off nearly 400 employees, or 44 percent of the work force, in coming months, officials from the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union, which represents most of the remaining 900 Waterford workers in Ireland.
4) They warned that the Waterford plant was in danger of being reduced to the status of a tourist attraction rather than a serious manufacturing site.
5) Waterford Wedgwood declined to comment on the union's claims, saying negotiations on making the factory more cost-effective had just begun and would take days to resolve.
6) The chairman and top shareholder, Sir Anthony O'Reilly, told the annual general meeting Oct. 11 that the company was about to launch a final round of restructuring in hopes of returning it to profit following years of deepening red ink.
7) The company has issued more than euro400 million (US$580 million) in new shares in the past four years to fund layoff packages, plant shutdowns and other restructuring costs.
8) Waterford Wedgwood has declined to confirm or deny Irish media reports that the company is negotiating with Steklarna Rogaska d.d., a glass manufacturer based in Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia, to shift more production lines from Waterford to the central European country. One Waterford-branded line of hand-cut crystal, Marquis, is already produced in the Slovenian town.
9) Waterford Wedgwood, the world's top-selling maker of crystal and fine china, has struggled to survive in recent years because of changing consumer tastes, lower-priced competition from Asian-based producers, and lost profits because of the collapsing value of the U.S. dollar. The United States traditionally accounts for at least half of worldwide Waterford sales.
10) "Waterford Wedgwood is doing its best to contemporize its products, to appeal to younger tastes -- to people who want, for instance, to be able to put their tableware into dishwashers without damaging it -- but the company is under pressure from all directions," said Philip O'Sullivan, an analyst at Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin.
11) The crystal division shut its other Irish plant two years ago and increasingly has looked to shift production overseas, including to Brazil, where Waterford-branded wine glasses are produced. Some Wedgwood ceramics, meanwhile, are being produced in a new plant near Jakarta, Indonesia, rather than in their traditional English home.
12) Waterford was founded in 1759 in the southeast Irish city of the same name. It merged with English fine-china specialist Wedgwood in 1986. The combined operation's shares have plummeted a staggering 95 percent since 2002, the last year that delivered a net profit.
13) Waterford Wedgwood's battered shares, long reduced to penny-stock status, rose a fraction of a cent Wednesday to 2.8 euro cents (4.05 U.S. cents).
14) In June, Waterford Wedgwood reported debts rising 10.9 percent to euro412.2 million ($584.5 million), more than double its stock value.
2007-11-08
Sales fall, losses grow at Waterford Wedgwood, Ireland ' s troubled crystal king
(APW_ENG_20071108.0406)
1) Luxury crystal and china maker Waterford Wedgwood PLC reported deepening losses and declining sales Thursday but said a further round of cost-cutting and an expected strong Christmas sales season would stop the red ink.
2) The Dublin-based company reported a net loss of euro57.1 million (US$83.6 million) in the April-September period, compared to a euro21.1 million loss for the same period of 2006. Sales fell 7.1 percent to euro317.4 million (US$464.7 million) from euro341.4 million.
3) Waterford Wedgwood did not break down its specific performance for the second quarter.
4) Chief Executive Peter Cameron said sales suffered from a "lack of working capital for much of the period, which limited our ability to manufacture and deliver our products." He said the company had drummed up that money by issuing euro100 million (US$146 million) worth of shares in July.
5) The company said it has completed its last cost-cutting plan, announced in March 2005, with a result of 2,300 fewer employees and savings of euro90 million (US$132 million) annually.
6) It said a new round of cutting -- expected to include nearly halving the remaining 900-member work force at the flagship crystal factory in Waterford, southeast Ireland -- "can be realized with the same success."
7) The company's debt mountain continued to rise, to euro473.4 million (US$693.1 million) from euro398.2 million in September 2006.
8) Waterford did report one major accomplishment: pruning the deficit in its employee pension fund. At the end of September it was euro93.1 million (US$136.3 million), compared with euro234.6 million in March 2006.
9) Waterford Wedgwood shares closed Wednesday at 2.5 euro cents (3.7 U.S. cents).
Sales fall, losses grow at Waterford Wedgwood, Ireland ' s troubled crystalmaker
(APW_ENG_20071108.0857)
1) Luxury crystal and china maker Waterford Wedgwood PLC reported deepening losses and declining sales Thursday but said a further round of cost-cutting and an expected strong Christmas sales season would stop the red ink.
2) The Dublin-based company reported a net loss of euro57.1 million (US$83.6 million) in the April-September period, compared to a euro21.1 million loss for the same period of 2006. Sales fell 7.0 percent to euro317.4 million (US$464.7 million) from euro341.4 million.
3) Waterford Wedgwood did not break down its specific performance for the second quarter. It said sales would pick up strongly in the second half of the fiscal year, citing the company's traditional dependence on sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas in the United States.
4) Chief Executive Peter Cameron said in a statement that first-half sales suffered from a "lack of working capital for much of the period, which limited our ability to manufacture and deliver our products." He said the company had drummed up that money in July by issuing euro100 million (US$146 million) worth of shares, its third such issue since 2004.
5) The company's completed cost-cutting plan axed 2,300 jobs in Ireland and Britain, shut an Irish crystal factory and an English ceramics plant, shifted production to a new china plant in Indonesia and subcontracted crystal lines to Slovenia and Brazil.
6) Waterford Wedgwood said that such slashing and shifting has saved the company euro90 million (US$132 million) annually. It said a new round of cutting -- expected to include nearly halving the remaining 900-member work force at the flagship crystal factory in Waterford, southeast Ireland -- "can be realized with the same success."
7) In a later interview, Cameron said the crystal factory in Waterford should expect "significant" job losses because the company needed to shift more production to lower-cost countries, most likely a crystal factory in Slovenia.
8) Cameron declined to specify how many jobs would go. "We're still in negotiations. We're still trying to understand which portions of the business need to be eliminated," he said.
9) When asked if the crystal factory in Waterford -- one of Ireland's most popular tourist attractions -- might eventually be shut down, Cameron hedged his bets.
10) "We're going to have to continue to review all the things we do. ... As these things become more and more expensive, it becomes more and more difficult to rationalize," he said.
11) The company's debt mountain continued to rise, to euro473.4 million (US$693.1 million) from euro398.2 million in September 2006.
12) Waterford did report one accomplishment: pruning the deficit in its employee pension fund. At the end of September it was euro93.1 million (US$136.3 million), compared with euro234.6 million in March 2006.
13) Waterford Wedgwood shares fell 8 percent Thursday to 2.3 euro cents (3.4 U.S. cents) on the Irish Stock Exchange. That was within a tenth of a cent of the stock's all-time low.
14) The stock price has plunged 95 percent since Waterford Wedgwood last reported a profit in 2002. The company has been particularly hard-hit by the chronic slide of the U.S. dollar, because Americans traditionally account for half of its crystal sales.
(APW_ENG_20071108.0858)
1) Ld-Writethru,0619
2) Sales fall, losses grow at Waterford Wedgwood, Ireland's troubled crystalmaker
3) Eds: UPDATES with chief executive confirms job losses at Irish crystal factory, shares fall; CORRECTS graf 2 figure to 7.0 sted 7.1; ADDS background
4) By SHAWN POGATCHNIK
5) Associated Press Writer
6) DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) -- Luxury crystal and china maker Waterford Wedgwood PLC reported deepening losses and declining sales Thursday but said a further round of cost-cutting and an expected strong Christmas sales season would stop the red ink.
7) The Dublin-based company reported a net loss of euro57.1 million (US$83.6 million) in the April-September period, compared to a euro21.1 million loss for the same period of 2006. Sales fell 7.0 percent to euro317.4 million (US$464.7 million) from euro341.4 million.
8) Waterford Wedgwood did not break down its specific performance for the second quarter. It said sales would pick up strongly in the second half of the fiscal year, citing the company's traditional dependence on sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas in the United States.
9) Chief Executive Peter Cameron said in a statement that first-half sales suffered from a "lack of working capital for much of the period, which limited our ability to manufacture and deliver our products." He said the company had drummed up that money in July by issuing euro100 million (US$146 million) worth of shares, its third such issue since 2004.
10) The company's completed cost-cutting plan axed 2,300 jobs in Ireland and Britain, shut an Irish crystal factory and an English ceramics plant, shifted production to a new china plant in Indonesia and subcontracted crystal lines to Slovenia and Brazil.
11) Waterford Wedgwood said that such slashing and shifting has saved the company euro90 million (US$132 million) annually. It said a new round of cutting -- expected to include nearly halving the remaining 900-member work force at the flagship crystal factory in Waterford, southeast Ireland -- "can be realized with the same success."
12) In a later interview, Cameron said the crystal factory in Waterford should expect "significant" job losses because the company needed to shift more production to lower-cost countries, most likely a crystal factory in Slovenia.
13) Cameron declined to specify how many jobs would go. "We're still in negotiations. We're still trying to understand which portions of the business need to be eliminated," he said.
14) When asked if the crystal factory in Waterford -- one of Ireland's most popular tourist attractions -- might eventually be shut down, Cameron hedged his bets.
15) "We're going to have to continue to review all the things we do. ... As these things become more and more expensive, it becomes more and more difficult to rationalize," he said.
16) The company's debt mountain continued to rise, to euro473.4 million (US$693.1 million) from euro398.2 million in September 2006.
17) Waterford did report one accomplishment: pruning the deficit in its employee pension fund. At the end of September it was euro93.1 million (US$136.3 million), compared with euro234.6 million in March 2006.
18) Waterford Wedgwood shares fell 8 percent Thursday to 2.3 euro cents (3.4 U.S. cents) on the Irish Stock Exchange. That was within a tenth of a cent of the stock's all-time low.
19) The stock price has plunged 95 percent since Waterford Wedgwood last reported a profit in 2002. The company has been particularly hard-hit by the chronic slide of the U.S. dollar, because Americans traditionally account for half of its crystal sales.
2007-11-21
Crystal king Waterford Wedgwood to slash Irish work force in half, cut 1,400 jobs worldwide
(APW_ENG_20071121.0954)
1) Luxury tableware manufacturer Waterford Wedgwood PLC said Wednesday it is cutting 1,400 jobs worldwide, including nearly half of workers at its flagship Irish crystal plant, in part because of the weak U.S. dollar.
2) The Dublin-based company, which has reported five years of deepening losses and debt, said it would lay off 490 of its approximately 1,000 workers at the crystal factory in Waterford, southeast Ireland -- and focus on developing the plant's status as a tourism magnet.
3) Waterford Wedgwood, which has a global work force of 8,000, declined to specify where it planned to cut the other 910 jobs, but said it would target "manufacturing, administration, warehousing, distribution and other operations in high-cost countries."
4) The company is a significant employer in England, Germany, Indonesia and the United States, where it employs about 800 people in sales, marketing and distribution.
5) John Foley, chief executive of the Waterford Crystal Ltd. division, broke the news to workers at the factory in Waterford, where the tradition of hand-cut crystal began more than two centuries ago. He said production "at the present scale has become untenable."
6) Foley cited the U.S. dollar's exceptional weakness as a key factor in slashing profits, because the United States typically accounts for half of crystal sales. But he said Ireland also had grown prohibitively expensive versus the company's increasing use of subcontractors to manufacture Waterford-brand crystal in Brazil, Germany, Hungary and Slovenia.
7) Company directors previously have heralded their increasing shift of production to developing countries, where operations are priced in U.S. dollars rather than the euro or similarly expensive British pound.
8) "The only way to secure the future of the operations in Waterford is to close the parts which are uncompetitive and to outsource these activities to lower-cost environments which can meet the quality standards of the Waterford brand," Foley said.
9) "We intend to cease production of several lines that are loss-making and focus the factory on the production of high-quality, cost-competitive products," he said. "It is imperative that we continue to focus on our remaining cost-competitive capabilities to secure the future of manufacturing in Ireland, while continuing to monitor the value of the dollar."
10) The value of Waterford Wedgwood shares has plunged 95 percent since the company last reported a profit in 2002 -- the same year that the dollar began its descent. In 2005, the company closed another crystal plant in Ireland and a ceramics factory in England, and cut 2,300 jobs in both countries, during its last round of cost-cutting.
11) That clearly has not been enough. Two weeks ago, Waterford Wedgwood reported a net loss of euro57.1 million (US$83.6 million) in the April-September period, compared to a euro21.1 million loss for the same period of 2006.
12) Sales fell 7 percent to euro317.4 million (US$464.7 million) from euro341.4 million. Its debts grew to euro473.4 million (US$693.1 million) from euro398.2 million in September 2006.
13) Waterford Wedgwood shares fell 4.8 percent Wednesday to 2 euro cents (2.9 U.S. cents) amid wider losses on the Irish Stock Exchange.
14) Foley said a key to Waterford's future profit in Ireland would be as a tourist and shopping mecca. He said the plant's production tours and crystal showroom already attract 300,000 tourists a year, and plans to build "an exciting retail and tourism experience" could double the number of visitors by 2012.
15) Waterford Crystal traces its lineage to a factory opened in the town in 1783, although that business failed in the 1850s. The brand was revived by a Czech immigrant to Waterford, Miroslav Havel, in 1947.
2008-03-03
Israel ' s generic drugs giant Teva expanding operations in Ireland
(APW_ENG_20080303.0756)
1) Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a world-leading maker of generic drugs, announced Monday it is expanding its operations in Ireland to counter growing global competition.
2) The Irish government provided a confidential level of aid to secure the euro65 million (US$98.6 million) investment in Teva's facilities in Waterford, southeast Ireland.
3) Teva, an Israeli company with plants worldwide, said it planned to boost its current 650-strong work force in Waterford to 815 within the next five years.
4) The announcement follows a string of job cuts in Waterford, most notably in the city's flagship crystal plant, which is cutting its Irish work force nearly in half.
5) Jacob Winter, Teva's vice president for global generic resources, said the Waterford expansion "will allow us to protect our products' leading market shares, add new capability and broaden our geographical reach and impact."
6) "We face intense competition in the generic drug market from other generic drug manufacturers, brand-name drug companies through authorized generics, manufacturers of branded drugs that continue to produce those drugs after patent expirations, and manufacturers of therapeutically similar drugs," Winter said.
7) The Waterford facility is operated by Teva's subsidiary IVAX, a previously Miami-based competitor that Teva acquired in January 2006. It includes three production plants and a research and development lab that specializes in combating respiratory ailments.
8) Tom McCabe, general manager of the Waterford operation, said the expansion was "akin to building a new factory" and would allow Teva to "more than double" its current production of medicines in inhalers and tablet form. The facility is already Teva's No. 1 site worldwide for producing products that relieve and prevent asthma.
9) Ireland is a major European hub for drug development and production. Most of the world's biggest drug companies have manufacturing and R&D operations here, and about 25,000 people are employed in pharmaceuticals in the country of 4.2 million.
2008-04-11
Waterford Crystal threatens to pull out of Ireland unless government underwrites new borrowing
(APW_ENG_20080411.1080)
1) Debt-ridden Waterford Crystal threatened Friday to withdraw from Ireland unless the government agrees to act as guarantor for euro39 million (US$61.7 million) in additional bank borrowing.
2) Ireland's iconic crystal maker issued its warning after the Irish Stock Exchange closed. The government declined immediate comment.
3) In its statement, the company said it "believes that it is desirable for Ireland to maintain Waterford Crystal in Ireland. It further believes that the commitment of its investors deserves the support of the government, which is being asked for a guarantee for a three-year period, not a loan or a grant."
4) The crystal plant, a division of Waterford Wedgwood PLC, has been struggling for several years to reverse red ink driven by high labor costs, changing international tastes and the exceptionally weak U.S. dollar. Americans traditionally account for half of Waterford's crystal sales.
5) The plant, which has operated in the southeast city of Waterford for six decades, has already moved several production lines overseas to Slovenia, Poland and Brazil, and earlier this year began negotiating with labor unions to slash its Irish work force in half to just 500 employees.
6) But Friday's statement emphasized that the whole plant, including its popular visitor's center, could shut down if the government did not intervene with a loan guarantee. Irish taxpayers would be liable to repay the debt if Waterford defaulted.
7) "The guarantee is a vital element in the retention of Waterford Crystal in Ireland and makes sound economic sense for the country," the company said, adding it was "gratified by the government's constructive engagement."
8) Waterford Crystal traces its lineage to a factory opened in the town in 1783, although that business failed in the 1850s. The brand was revived by a Czech immigrant to Waterford, Miroslav Havel, in 1947.
Waterford Crystal threatens to pull out of Ireland unless government underwrites new borrowing
(APW_ENG_20080411.1132)
1) Debt-ridden Waterford Crystal threatened Friday to withdraw from Ireland unless the government agrees to act as guarantor for euro39 million (US$61.7 million) in additional bank borrowing.
2) Ireland's iconic crystal maker issued its warning after the Irish Stock Exchange closed. The government declined immediate comment.
3) In its statement, the company said it "believes that it is desirable for Ireland to maintain Waterford Crystal in Ireland. It further believes that the commitment of its investors deserves the support of the government, which is being asked for a guarantee for a three-year period, not a loan or a grant."
4) The crystal plant, a division of Waterford Wedgwood PLC, has been struggling for several years to reverse red ink driven by high labor costs, changing international tastes and the exceptionally weak U.S. dollar. Americans traditionally account for half of Waterford's crystal sales.
5) The plant, which has operated in the southeast city of Waterford for six decades, has already moved several production lines overseas to Slovenia, Poland and Brazil, and earlier this year began negotiating with labor unions to slash its Irish work force in half to just 500 employees.
6) But Friday's statement emphasized that the whole plant, including its popular visitor's center, could shut down if the government did not intervene with a loan guarantee. Irish taxpayers would be liable to repay the debt if Waterford defaulted.
7) "The guarantee is a vital element in the retention of Waterford Crystal in Ireland and makes sound economic sense for the country," the company said, adding it was "gratified by the government's constructive engagement."
8) The government is reportedly torn over whether to offer a life raft to one of Ireland's most famous -- and most financially desperate -- industries.
9) Waterford Wedgwood in September reported a net debt of euro473.4 million (US$748.9 million), and since has struggled to secure additional bank loans, in part because of the global lending clampdown.
10) Government concerns include whether state aid would be approved by European Union competition authorities, and whether it would even be appropriate to bail out a business that is chiefly owned by one of Ireland's most prominent billionaires, publishing magnate Sir Anthony O'Reilly.
11) O'Reilly and his brother in-law, Peter Goulandris, jointly own more than 50 percent of Waterford Wedgwood shares. They personally have invested more than euro300 million (US$475 million) in funding the company's reorganization costs and debts since 2003.
12) A series of share issues, much of it purchased by O'Reilly and Goulandris, has drummed up more than euro775 million (US$1.2 billion) to stave off the company's collapse. Yet the company's market value today stands at barely euro80 million (US$127 million).
13) Waterford Wedgwood has languished in penny-stock status for years, and the shares have fallen to record lows since rumors spread earlier this month that it was lobbing for government aid. The stock closed Friday at 1.3 euro cents (2.1 U.S. cents), down a fifth of a cent and barely off the record low of 1.2 euro cents.
14) Waterford Crystal traces its lineage to a factory opened in the town in 1783, although that business failed in the 1850s. The brand was revived by a Czech immigrant to Waterford, Miroslav Havel, in 1947.
15) The crystal side of the business thrived throughout the 1990s and at its height employed 3,200 in Ireland. But the company's other facility for cutting lead crystal by hand closed in 2005, leaving only the flagship plant in Waterford, which is one of Ireland's top tourist attractions.
2008-05-20
Irish gov ' t rejects appeal to guarantee loans for debt-ridden Waterford Crystal
(APW_ENG_20080520.1231)
1) Debt-ridden Waterford Crystal faced a renewed cash crisis Tuesday after the Irish government said it would not act as guarantor for any new bank loans.
2) Waterford Wedgwood PLC, parent company of the iconic Irish crystal maker, announced last month that banks would not extend any more credit unless the government stepped in to guarantee repayment.
3) The company warned that Waterford's hand-cut crystal plant, a major tourist attraction in the southeast Irish city of the same name, might have to close unless the government helped secure a euro39 million (US$61 million) loan.
4) But the government rejected that appeal after extensive arguments at Cabinet level.
5) Among the government's concerns were that it would set a precedent in Ireland for bailing out a multinational company that has most of its operations overseas, and the risk that taxpayers could get sucked into a series of dead-end bailouts and assume legal responsibility for funding workers' layoffs and pensions.
6) The government also faced a political difficulty, because any state assistance to Waterford would mean putting money into the pocket of one of Ireland's wealthiest businessmen, newspaper magnate Tony O'Reilly.
7) O'Reilly and his brother-in-law, Peter Goulandris, own more than half of Waterford Wedgwood shares today and have sunk more than euro300 million (US$450 million) personally into keeping the company afloat over the past five years.
8) But that investment, backed by a trove of new share offerings, has failed to stanch the flow of red ink, and Waterford Wedgwood shares have fallen to penny-stock status. The stock closed Tuesday at 1 euro cent (1.57 U.S. cents), matching its all-time low.
9) Waterford Wedgwood in September reported a net debt of euro473.4 million (US$748.9 million) -- more than five times its market value.
10) The company is already moving more of its crystal operations overseas, and in February opened negotiations with labor unions to cut about half of the 1,000-strong work force in Waterford. Those workers were told last week that the plant would shut down at short notice for weeklong periods because of excess stock.
11) The Wedgwood china half of the company is traditionally based in neighboring England but, just like the crystal business, is increasingly shifting operations to lower-cost corners of the globe. Today much of the group's china is made in Indonesia, and crystal in Eastern Europe and Brazil.
12) Waterford Crystal has its biggest market in the United States, but profits there have plummeted since 2002 as the dollar has weakened.
13) Waterford Crystal traces its lineage to a factory opened in the town in 1783, although that business failed in the 1850s. The brand was revived by a Czech immigrant to Waterford, Miroslav Havel, in 1947.
14) The crystal side of the business thrived throughout the 1990s and at its height employed 3,200 people in Ireland. But the company's other facility for cutting lead crystal by hand closed in 2005, leaving only the flagship plant in Waterford, which attracts an estimated 300,000 visitors a year.
2008-06-23
Waterford Wedgwood contemplates sale of German unit Rosenthal
(APW_ENG_20080623.0316)
1) Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the cash-strapped maker of luxury crystal and china, confirmed Monday it is contemplating the sale of its majority holding in porcelain firm Rosenthal AG of Germany.
2) The Irish-based company was responding to weekend media reports that it is seeking a buyer for its 90 percent stake in Rosenthal of Selb, Germany.
3) In a brief statement Waterford Wedgwood said it had appointed investment bankers JPMorgan Cazenove to conduct "a strategic review of the Rosenthal business."
4) Waterford Wedgwood's battered shares jumped more than 28 percent on the news -- to 0.9 euro cents (1.4 U.S. cents) from its record low of 0.7 euro cents (1.1 U.S. cents).
5) Rosenthal employs 1,800 people chiefly in the design, manufacture and distribution of porcelain tableware and ornaments, and furniture. Waterford Wedgwood acquired its majority stake in 1997 when the company was rapidly expanding on the back of surging sales for its hand-crafted crystal, porcelain and ceramics.
6) But Waterford Wedgwood has been battling a growing tide of red ink in this decade. In September, it reported a net debt of euro473.4 million euros ($748.9 million) -- more than five times its market value.
7) More than half of the company's shares are owned by publishing magnate Tony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris, who have plowed more than euro300 million (US$450 million) personally into keeping the company afloat over the past five years.
8) The company has suffered from a combination of problems: high labor costs in its traditional manufacturing bases of Ireland and England, a decline in demand for its goods because of changing tastes and lifestyles, and the slumping value of the U.S. dollar.
9) Waterford Wedgwood has responded by selling off peripheral ventures; closing plants in Ireland and England; shifting production overseas to Eastern Europe, Indonesia and Brazil; cutting deals with trendy designers to undercut its old-fashioned image; and issuing new shareholdings that have badly diluted the stock's value.
10) But the company says it faces a cash crisis because it cannot secure further loans from banks.
11) Last month the Irish government refused a request to provide guarantees for a proposed euro39 million (US$61 million) loan for the Waterford Crystal plant in southeast Ireland. Half of the plant's approximately 1,000 workers are being laid off this year, while the rest face periodic company-ordered shutdowns because of excess stock.
2008-10-14
Waterford Crystal to slash more jobs
(APW_ENG_20081014.1200)
1) Waterford Crystal, the Irish icon fighting a long and losing struggle for survival, plans to cut most of its remaining work force in Ireland and produce the bulk of its hand-cut glassware overseas, employees and union representatives said Tuesday.
2) The Dublin-based company confirmed it plans to open negotiations to lay off more of its Irish work force but declined to discuss specific figures or confirm whether its Irish operation would continue manufacturing or become exclusively focused on tourism.
3) Several workers departing the plant's flagship crystal works in Waterford, southeast Ireland, said union ward leaders had informed them that the company wants to cut 230 more workers from the payroll in talks scheduled to start Thursday.
4) That would come on top of 490 job cuts already confirmed in November -- and leave one of Ireland's highest-profile products with just 125 workers in Waterford. That figure would include about 70 glass cutters and manufacturing supervisors and 55 tour guides and other tourism center workers.
5) The factory remains one of the country's top tourist attractions, with an estimated 300,000 visitors annually. But profits of Irish-produced, hand-cut crystal have taken a hammering since 2002 because of changing consumer tastes, cheaper competition in Eastern Europe and Asia, and the weak U.S. dollar.
6) Tuesday's warnings of more imminent job losses followed an extraordinary general meeting Monday in Dublin involving the key shareholders of Waterford Wedgwood PLC. They approved the latest in a string of increasingly desperate issuings of new stock.
7) More than three-fourths of the latest issuing of shares was taken up by the company's two biggest holders, publishing magnate Sir Anthony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris, who have personally plowed hundreds of millions into the failing Irish enterprise.
8) However, the company's offering fell euro22 million (US$30 million) short of its euro100 million (US$137 target) as other potential investors stayed away.
9) Waterford Wedgwood shares have been virtually worthless for months and hard to trade on the Irish Stock Exchange. They remained static Tuesday at 0.2 euro cents (less than 0.3 U.S. cents) each.
10) Many Waterford-branded sets of lead crystal and glassware already are produced by subcontractors in Eastern Europe and Brazil, while Wedgwood-branded ceramics and china increasingly are produced in Indonesia.
11) The company has been mulling whether to reduce the Waterford operation to a tourism-only site since at least May, when the Irish government rejected its appeal for emergency assistance.
12) Waterford Wedgwood had asked the government to serve as its guarantor for new bank loans. But the government refused, fearing that taxpayers could end up assuming responsibility for more bailouts -- and, eventually, workers' layoffs and pensions.
13) Waterford Wedgwood a year ago reported net debts of euro473.4 million (US$748.9 million), more than 10 times its current market value.
14) Waterford Crystal traces its lineage to a factory opened in the town in 1783, although that business failed in the 1850s. The brand was revived by a Czech immigrant to Waterford, Miroslav Havel, in 1947.
15) The crystal side of the business thrived throughout the 1990s and at its height employed 3,200 people in Ireland. But the company's other Irish plant for cutting lead crystal by hand closed in 2005, leaving only the Waterford base.
Waterford Crystal to slash more jobs
(APW_ENG_20081014.1344)
1) Waterford Crystal plans to cut most of its remaining Irish work force and produce the bulk of its hand-cut glassware overseas, employees and union representatives said Tuesday.
2) The Dublin-based company confirmed plans to open negotiations over layoffs but declined to discuss specifics or confirm whether it would continue manufacturing in Ireland or become exclusively focused on tourism.
3) Several workers departing the crystal works in Waterford said union leaders told them the company wants to cut 280 more jobs.
4) That would come on top of 490 job cuts announced in November, leaving just 125 workers in Waterford, nearly half of them employed in the tourism center which attracts an estimated 300,000 visitors annually.
5) Changing consumer tastes, cheaper competition from aboard, and the weak U.S. dollar have all taken a toll on profits for Irish manufactured cut glass products.
6) On Monday, key shareholders of Waterford Wedgwood PLC approved the latest in a string of increasingly desperate new stock issues.
7) More than three-fourths of the issue was taken up by the company's two biggest shareholders, publishing magnate Sir Anthony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris, who have plowed hundreds of millions into the failing Irish enterprise.
8) However, the company's offering fell euro22 million (US$30 million) short of its euro100 million (US$137 target) target as other potential investors stayed away.
9) Waterford Wedgwood shares have been virtually worthless for months, trading at around two-tenths of a euro cent (less than three tenths of an American cent) each.
10) Many Waterford-branded sets of lead crystal and glassware already are produced by subcontractors in Eastern Europe and Brazil, while Wedgwood-branded ceramics and china increasingly are produced in Indonesia.
11) The company has been mulling whether to reduce the Waterford operation to a tourism-only site since at least May, when the Irish government rejected its appeal for emergency assistance.
12) Waterford Wedgwood a year ago reported debts of euro473.4 million (US$748.9 million), more than 10 times its current market value.
13) Waterford Crystal traces its lineage to a factory opened in the town in 1783, although that business failed in the 1850s. The brand was revived by a Czech immigrant to Waterford, Miroslav Havel, in 1947.
14) The crystal side of the business thrived throughout the 1990s and at its height employed 3,200 people in Ireland.
2008-10-16
Waterford Crystal to fire most Irish workers
(APW_ENG_20081016.0603)
1) Waterford Crystal, a glittering icon of Ireland, announced Thursday it will lay off most of its Irish work force and move its factory production overseas after losing a six-year battle to boost sales, cut costs and control debts.
2) "We regret the necessity of ending large-scale manufacturing in Waterford, but we reaffirm our commitment to the city," said chief executive John Foley, referring to the company's 61-year-old base in the southeast Irish city of the same name.
3) It didn't say where the work was going but the company has contracted much of its production to a manufacturer in Slovenia.
4) The company said about 125 employees in Waterford would remain once 280 specialist workers, chiefly involved in the blowing and hand-cutting of lead crystal, were laid off in coming months. The Associated Press reported the planned job cuts Tuesday.
5) Officials said the Waterford plant -- already one of Ireland's top tourist attractions with an estimated 300,000 visitors annually -- would become an almost exclusively tourism-focused operation. They said dozens of craftsmen would continue to produce specialist pieces, including unique trophies and ornaments.
6) At its height Waterford Crystal employed 3,200 people in Ireland at two plants but has steadily lost its luster here since 2002. Its smaller plant shut down three years ago as executives began subcontracting production to plants as far away as Brazil.
7) Waterford's ability to produce profitably in Ireland has been shattered by rising competition particularly in Eastern Europe, changing consumer tastes that increasingly viewed crystal as an impractical anachronism, and perhaps above all by chronic weakness of the U.S. dollar.
8) Americans traditionally have accounted for half of Waterford Crystal purchases -- and until now, Waterford chiefs have sought to defend the company's Irish roots in fear that shifting to Slovenia, Poland or elsewhere might alienate the Irish-American base.
9) But Anthony Jones, chief financial officer of the plant's Waterford Wedgwood PLC parent, said it had "become clear that maintaining manufacturing operations in Ireland at their current level is not feasible. Along with many other companies, we are, therefore, forced to find alternative means of production abroad."
10) He said the future Waterford facility would remain "critical to the DNA of our brand" and would focus on tourist visits and "some prestigious manufacturing."
11) The company declined to discuss where Waterford Crystal production would shift. It already has contracted much of its previous production to Steklarna Rogaska d.d., a glass manufacturer based in Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia.
12) The Wedgwood side of the company in recent years has slashed jobs and production in its traditional England base and moved most production of china and ceramics to a new factory in Indonesia.
Waterford Crystal to fire most Irish workers
(APW_ENG_20081016.0969)
1) Waterford Crystal, a glittering icon of Ireland, announced Thursday it will lay off most of its Irish work force and move its factory production overseas after losing a six-year battle to boost sales, cut costs and control debts.
2) "We regret the necessity of ending large-scale manufacturing in Waterford, but we reaffirm our commitment to the city," said chief executive John Foley, referring to the company's 61-year-old base in the southeast Irish city of the same name.
3) It didn't say where the work was going but the company has contracted much of its production to a manufacturer in Slovenia.
4) The company said about 125 employees in Waterford would remain once 280 specialist workers, chiefly involved in the blowing and hand-cutting of lead crystal, would be laid off in coming months. Officials said the Waterford plant -- already one of Ireland's top tourist attractions with an estimated 300,000 visitors annually -- would become an almost exclusively tourism-focused operation.
5) They said dozens of craftsmen would continue to produce specialist pieces, including unique trophies and ornaments. Past examples include a crystal cowboy hat in the plant's visitor center and the illuminated crystal ball used to herald in the New Year in New York's Times Square.
6) At its height, Waterford Crystal employed 3,200 people in Ireland at two plants but in 2002 began a rapid fall into debt. Its smaller plant shut down three years ago as executives began subcontracting production to plants as far away as Brazil.
7) Waterford's ability to produce profitably in Ireland has been shattered by rising competition from Eastern Europe, changing consumer tastes that increasingly viewed crystal as impractical and old-fashioned, and perhaps above all by chronic weakness of the U.S. dollar.
8) Americans traditionally have accounted for half of Waterford Crystal purchases -- and until now, Waterford chiefs have sought to defend the company's Irish roots in fear that shifting to Slovenia, Poland or elsewhere might alienate the Irish-American base.
9) But Anthony Jones, chief financial officer of the plant's Waterford Wedgwood PLC parent, said it had "become clear that maintaining manufacturing operations in Ireland at their current level is not feasible. Along with many other companies, we are, therefore, forced to find alternative means of production abroad."
10) He said the future Waterford facility would remain "critical to the DNA of our brand" and would focus on tourist visits and "some prestigious manufacturing."
11) The labor union that represents Waterford workers, Unite, called an emergency meeting for Thursday night and vowed to fight the plans. Unite representative Walter Cullen said all of Waterford was in shock -- and dismissed the management's explanations as dishonest.
12) "Fine words about the importance of the area to the brand are of little comfort to staff who have, through generations of craftsmanship, built that brand into the icon it is today," Cullen said. "That they will now seemingly be cast aside and production moved to just another factory overseas is devastating."
13) Cullen said the union would "strive with every fiber of its being to find some alternative. Waterford Crystal is too important to the workers, to the city and to the nation as a whole to let it slide away."
14) But international investors liked the plans, driving up Waterford Wedgwood shares 50 percent -- to three-tenths of a euro cent (0.4 U.S. cents).
15) The shares, which are largely held by publishing magnate Tony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris, have been penny-stock status for years -- and then fell into the fractions this year. The company's market value remains less than a tenth of a debt mountain exceeding 475 million euros (US$635 million).
16) The company declined to discuss where Waterford Crystal production would shift. It already has contracted much of its previous production to Steklarna Rogaska d.d., a glass manufacturer based in Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia.
17) The Wedgwood side of the company in recent years has slashed jobs and production in its traditional England base and moved most production of china and ceramics to a new factory in Indonesia.
18) Less than a year ago, the Waterford Crystal factory still employed nearly 1,000 workers, but half were told in November 2007 they would lose their jobs. Negotiations on five-figure compensation payouts for each employee are continuing, an expense adding to the company's already desperate financial position.
19) The expectation of more job cuts rose Monday when O'Reilly, Goulandris and other shareholders approved the latest in a string of stock flotations designed to attract new investors to the fold at knock-down prices. They had hoped to win about euro40 million (US$55 billion) in new business but managed less than half of that.
20) That followed an embarrassing rebuff in May from the Irish government, which refused a Waterford Crystal appeal for taxpayers to serve as a guarantor on the company's next loan application.
21) Waterford Crystal traces its lineage to a factory opened in the town in 1783, although that business failed in the 1850s. The brand was revived by a Czech immigrant to Waterford, Miroslav Havel, in 1947. Havel, 86, died last month from heart failure at his Dublin home.
2008-12-04
Waterford doubles its operating loss in 1H
(APW_ENG_20081204.1278)
1) The struggling Irish glassware maker Waterford Crystal said Thursday that its operating losses have more than doubled and it faces daunting challenges.
2) Waterford Wedgwood PLC's losses hit euro52.9 million ($67.6 million) in the 26-week period ending on Oct. 4 compared to euro24.4 million ($31.2 million) over the same period last year, the company said, adding that revenues in the group's key U.S., British and Japanese markets had fallen amid the general economic slowdown.
3) The Dublin-based company has been battling to stay alive, slashing hundreds of jobs and shipping much of its production to eastern Europe and Brazil. Earlier this year the Irish government refused a request to provide guarantees for a proposed euro39 million loan for the Waterford Crystal plant in southeast Ireland; in an interim statement the cash-strapped company said it needed money from investors, something chief executive David Sculley would require a "comprehensive financial restructuring" of the venerable business.
4) Waterford Wedgwood shares have been virtually worthless for months -- on Thursday shares were trading on the London Stock Exchange at less than one-tenth of U.S. cent.
5) The company has been mulling whether to reduce the Waterford operation to a tourism-only site since at least May, when the Irish government rejected its appeal for emergency assistance.
6) Waterford Wedgwood traces its lineage to a factory opened in 1783, although that business failed in the 1850s. The brand was revived by a Czech immigrant to Waterford, Miroslav Havel, in 1947.
7) The crystal side of the business thrived throughout the 1990s and at its height employed 3,200 people in Ireland.
8) Sculley said he new funding was needed to help the company recover from its losses.
9) "Despite immense challenges there are a lot of things that are right about this business and the group has a future that is worth fighting for," Sculley said.
Waterford doubles its operating loss in 1H
(APW_ENG_20081204.1310)
1) The struggling Irish glassware maker Waterford Crystal said Thursday that its operating losses have more than doubled and it faces daunting challenges.
2) Waterford Wedgwood PLC's losses hit euro52.9 million ($67.6 million) in the 26-week period ending on Oct. 4 compared to euro24.4 million ($31.2 million) over the same period last year, the company said, adding that revenues in the group's key U.S., British and Japanese markets had fallen amid the general economic slowdown.
3) The Dublin-based company has been battling to stay alive, slashing hundreds of jobs and shipping much of its production to eastern Europe and Brazil. Earlier this year the Irish government refused a request to provide guarantees for a proposed euro39 million loan for the Waterford Crystal plant in southeast Ireland; in an interim statement the cash-strapped company said it needed money from investors, something chief executive David Sculley would require a "comprehensive financial restructuring" of the venerable business.
4) Waterford Wedgwood shares have been virtually worthless for months -- on Thursday shares were trading on the London Stock Exchange at less than one-fifth of U.S. cent.
5) The company has been mulling whether to reduce the Waterford operation to a tourism-only site since at least May, when the Irish government rejected its appeal for emergency assistance.
6) Waterford Wedgwood traces its lineage to a factory opened in 1783, although that business failed in the 1850s. The brand was revived by a Czech immigrant to Waterford, Miroslav Havel, in 1947.
7) The crystal side of the business thrived throughout the 1990s and at its height employed 3,200 people in Ireland.
8) Sculley said he new funding was needed to help the company recover from its losses.
9) "Despite immense challenges there are a lot of things that are right about this business and the group has a future that is worth fighting for," Sculley said.
Sales fall at debt-ridden Waterford Wedgwood
(APW_ENG_20081204.1458)
1) Debt-ridden crystal and china maker Waterford Wedgwood PLC reported falling sales and increasing first-half losses Thursday and warned it could be forced to shut down if a major new investor cannot be found to bail it out.
2) For the six months ending Oct. 4, the Dublin-based company reported its net loss rose to euro75.8 million ($96.7 million) versus a euro57.1 million loss in the first half of 2007. First-half sales fell 15.4 percent to euro207.6 million ($265 million).
3) The biggest losses occurred at the company's Waterford Crystal plant in southeast Ireland, where several hundred workers are receiving five-figure layoff packages as production shifts to lower-wage subcontractors in Eastern Europe. Red ink diminished at the Wedgwood ceramics division, which has moved most production from the English heartland to Indonesia.
4) Waterford Wedgwood earlier this week said it had been forced to ask its chief creditors for "forbearance" because the company can no longer pay its loans on time or in full.
5) It reiterated Thursday that the company -- which is chiefly owned by publishing magnate Sir Anthony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris -- must attract a major new investor soon because its latest share flotation failed to attract sufficient interest.
6) In a statement, Waterford Wedgwood said it remained confident of negotiating new loan repayment conditions and securing more private investment. Failure to achieve either one, it warned, "would compromise the group's ability to continue as a going concern."
7) Waterford Wedgwood shares have been virtually worthless for months. They were unchanged Thursday on the Irish Stock Exchange at one-tenth of a euro cent (3/25ths of a U.S. cent). This reflects the fact that the company's assets are worth only a fraction of its debts, which grew 7 percent over the past year to euro448.9 million ($572.4 million).
8) The company reported a few hopeful signs Thursday: increasing market share of U.S. crystal sales, albeit in a shrinking market, and increasing American profits because of the recently strengthening U.S. dollar. American sales traditionally account for about half of Waterford Crystal sales.
9) Nonetheless, Thursday's results showed that the Irish crystal side of the business has become the biggest loss-maker, shedding euro33.4 million in the first half of 2008 versus recording a euro7.1 million profit in the first half of 2007. By contrast, losses at the company's Wedgwood ceramics division narrowed to euro16.2 million from euro26.3 million.
2008-12-27
US fund in talks to take over Waterford Wedgwood
(APW_ENG_20081227.0034)
1) A U.S. private equity fund is in talks to take a controlling stake in struggling Irish crystal and ceramics manufacturer Waterford Wedgwood PLC for 600 million euros ($846 million), three people briefed on the negotiations said.
2) Under terms of the deal, the U.S. investor group would assume roughly 400 million euros in debt, split almost equally between bonds and bank loans, and provide about 200 million euros in new capital, the three individuals told The Associated Press. They insisted on anonymity because the confidential talks are ongoing.
3) The deal is desperately needed to save Waterford Wedgwood, a company run by English and Irish managers throughout its more than 250-year history, because it has been unable to raise operating capital in recent months and has posted nearly six years of consecutive loses.
4) Without a cash injection it could soon be declared bankrupt. The company has until Jan. 2 -- the third postponement from creditors -- to make mounting loan payments or face the possible forced liquidation of assets, the individuals said.
5) "It's a race against time," one of the people said. "The U.S. equity firm is in the process of due diligence."
6) They declined to identify the U.S. investor group, but said talks had also been held with two other potential backers.
7) Bank of America Corp., one of Waterford's lenders, acts as an agent for a group of the company's lenders and investors. Bank of America spokeswoman Julie Westermann declined to comment on the ramifications of a possible Waterford deal or the amount of debt Waterford holds. She said doing so would break confidentiality agreements.
8) Waterford Wedgwood, known for its high-end crystal and tableware, has been shifting production overseas to cut costs. The Wedgwood ceramics division has moved most of its production from central England to Indonesia, while crystal production has been largely moved from Ireland to Eastern Europe.
9) Those shifts have sharply reduced overhead costs, but a combination of the falling dollar, slowing sales of key products and, more recently, the global credit crunch have put its financial future at risk.
10) For the six months ending Oct. 4, the company reported its losses rose to 75.8 million euros while first-half sales fell 15.4 percent to 207.6 million euros.
11) The company's majority shareholders -- the billionaire Irish O'Reilly family and Deputy Chairman Peter Goulandris -- own a joint 51 percent stake and have poured about 400 million euros into the company to keep it afloat in recent years, one of the officials said.
12) The O'Reilly family will be "pragmatic" in considering the offer that will strip it of its controlling stake, one of the individuals said.
13) Waterford Wedgwood shares have been virtually worthless for months. They have fallen on the Irish Stock Exchange at one-tenth of a euro cent. This reflects the fact that the company's assets are worth only a fraction of its debts, which grew 7 percent over the past year to 448.9 million euros.
2009-01-08
Waterford Wedgwood in tentative rescue deal
(APW_ENG_20090108.1018)
1) Administrators for Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the collapsed maker of classic china and crystal, said Thursday they had reached a tentative agreement with U.S. private equity firm KPS Capital Partners over the sale of many of the company's assets.
2) Waterford Wedgwood, which has its roots in a pottery factory in central England and a crystal factory in southeast Ireland, said it had signed a "letter of intent," a nonbinding agreement, with KPS about certain assets of the brands Waterford, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and others.
3) The company filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this week after failed attempts at a restructure or a sale, and administrators appointed to run the business said Thursday they were working "to expeditiously agree the terms upon which a transaction can be completed in the interests of stakeholders."
4) Waterford Wedgwood chief executive officer David Sculley said the preliminary agreement was a "critical step forward."
5) "We commend KPS for its confidence in our company, for the enormous amount of time, effort and resources expended by KPS globally that have resulted in reaching this important stage," Sculley said in a statement. "I look forward to working towards the successful completion of a deal."
6) Waterford Wedgwood, which employs around 7,700 worldwide, is the latest on a growing list of iconic British companies to succumb to the global economic slowdown and credit squeeze.
7) Department store veteran Woolworths, the queen's tailor Hardy Amies, tea and coffee merchant Whittard of Chelsea and fellow ceramics stalwart Royal Worcester and Spode have all filed for bankruptcy protection in recent months.
8) Under that process, administrators are appointed to salvage as much of the company as possible for the benefit of its creditors. While they may do so by selling the company as a going concern, they can revert to a break-up to recoup as much money as possible from assets if a buyer for the whole business cannot be found.
9) Waterford Wedgwood's administrators said Thursday they would continue the process of seeking a separate buyer for any or parts of the business -- while talks with KPS were ongoing -- in accordance to their duties to creditors.
10) Trading in the company's shares has been suspended on the Irish Stock Exchange, where they languished at just one-tenth of a euro cent. The company's directors have handed in their resignations.
11) Wedgwood has been an iconic name in British pottery for 250 years, after its founder Josiah Wedgwood opened the first factory in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, in 1759, while Waterford Crystal traces its lineage to a factory opened in Waterford, southeast Ireland in 1783.
12) Waterford acquired Wedgwood in 1986 to form the present company, listing on the stock exchange and expanding overseas in the 1990s before buying fellow Stoke-on-Trent ceramics maker Royal Doulton in 2005.
13) Much of the business has now shifted offshore, where it employs 5,800 people, including 1,500 people at a plant in Jakarta, Indonesia, which produces most of the company's ceramics. The majority of its crystal production has been handed to Eastern European subcontractors.
2009-01-12
Waterford Wedgwood cuts jobs; sales talks ongoing
(APW_ENG_20090112.0524)
1) Administrators for Waterford Wedgwood, the collapsed maker of classic china and crystal, said Monday they would cut 367 jobs from a plant in Britain.
2) The administrators from accountancy firm Deloitte, who were appointed to run the company under bankruptcy protection last week, added that discussions with potential buyers of Waterford Wedgwood's assets continued.
3) Administrators said last week that they had reached a tentative agreement with U.S. private equity firm KPS Capital Partners over the sale of many of the company's assets, but they provided no specific update on that prospective deal on Monday.
4) "The business will be continuing to trade as normal, and the administrators are continuing discussions with parties who have expressed an interest in purchasing the business," said joint administrator Angus Martin. "Every effort is being made to avoid further redundancies across the business."
5) The majority of the redundancies announced Monday will come from the company's manufacturing site in Barlaston, central England. The company, which has its roots in a pottery factory in central England and a crystal factory in southeast Ireland, employs just under 2,000 people across Britain and some 7,700 worldwide.
6) The company filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 5 after failed attempts at a restructure or a sale, and administrators were appointed to run the business.
7) On Thursday, it said it had signed a "letter of intent," a nonbinding agreement, with KPS about certain assets of the brands Waterford, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and others.
2009-01-30
Waterford Crystal closed amid crippling debts
(APW_ENG_20090130.0966)
1) Waterford Crystal workers have mounted a sit-down protest in their world-famous factory after union leaders informed them that the debt-crippled company is closing immediately.
2) More than 200 workers are refusing to leave the factory until the British receivers handling Waterford Wedgwood's bankruptcy proceedings reverse the decision to close the factory Friday. Workers have clashed with guards blocking them from one entrance, smashing at least one window before police intervened.
3) Labor union official Walter Cullen says officials negotiating the sale or disposal of the company have told him that Waterford Wedgwood has run out of money to pay the wages of its remaining 650 Irish employees. Two U.S. private equity firms remain in talks seeking potential terms for buying parts of the company.
Waterford Crystal closed amid crippling debts
(APW_ENG_20090130.1062)
1) Waterford Crystal workers clashed with security guards and mounted a sit-down protest Friday after bankruptcy officials shut down their world-famous but debt-crippled factory.
2) Union leaders warned that more than 200 workers would refuse to leave the factory in the city of Waterford, southeast Ireland, until the receivers handling Waterford Wedgwood PLC's bankruptcy proceedings reversed the closure.
3) The approximately 650 remaining Irish employees at the iconic plant had already been reduced to working part-time as the company negotiated with potential American buyers to take over part or all of the business.
4) Waterford Crystal is widely regarded as the most famous producer of hand-cut lead glass worldwide. Founded by a Czech immigrant in 1948, the crystal plant enjoyed growing success in the 1980s and 1990s, employing more than 3,000 people at three Irish locations at its height.
5) Traditionally Americans account for about half of Waterford Crystal sales -- a key factor in Waterford's failure to record a profit since 2002, when the U.S. dollar fell into chronic weakness versus the euro. The company also has battled high Irish labor costs versus growing Eastern European competition. Consumer tastes also have increasingly favored lighter, more practical glassware.
6) On Friday, David Carson, the receiver still negotiating with two U.S. private equity firms, said in a statement that all Waterford Crystal workers had been laid off with immediate effect and the factory -- including its tourist center, one of Ireland's top tourist attractions -- would be closed indefinitely.
7) Carson held out hope that both the factory and visitors center might eventually reopen under new ownership.
8) The Waterford Crystal factory's unionized workers discovered their fate Friday when the afternoon shift was blocked from entering the factory. They tried to force their way in past private security guards who were reinforced this month at the plant to deter labor unrest.
9) Witnesses said one worker was cut during scuffles, and at least one plate-glass window was shattered, before police intervened to separate the two groups. Some workers got into the building during the melee and joined comrades from the day shift who were refusing to leave.
10) Walter Cullen, the spokesman for Waterford Crystal workers represented by the Unite labor union, said Carson had told him by phone that he could not wait any longer for an American "white knight" investor.
11) "He told me he had run out of money, and this was why he was making the decision," Cullen said. "I reminded him that he had broken his word. He had promised not to shut us down like this without warning or negotiations to explore alternatives."
12) Cullen said the protesting workers would leave the factory "only if the decision of the receiver is reversed."
13) The Associated Press left e-mails and phone messages with the receiver and other Waterford Wedgwood officials, but no messages were returned.
14) Eleven of Waterford Wedgwood's 14-member board of directors has resigned this month, including its two major investors, Irish publishing magnate Tony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris. The pair personally invested more than euro400 million to keep the company afloat in recent years -- and today own more than half of Waterford Wedgwood's virtually worthless stock.
15) The company in recent years has slashed production in its traditional heartlands -- crystal in Ireland, china in England -- and shifted crystal production overseas to Eastern Europe and china to Indonesia.
16) But Waterford Wedgwood still needed to keep borrowing money and floating new shares to pay its bills, and hit a brick wall last year amid tightening credit markets worldwide. The Irish government refused to underwrite any private bank loans, and O'Reilly and Goulandris decided that someone else must lead the next bailout.
17) Waterford Wedgwood filed for bankruptcy protection Jan. 5, and a week later more than 350 people were laid off from the Wedgwood china side of the operation. Earlier this week, the Waterford side of the business stopped making payments to more than 250 recently laid-off workers, compounding its longer-term failure to pay full pension benefits to retired glassworkers.
18) The company has identified a U.S. private equity firm, KPS Capital Partners of New York, as the leading bidder for undisclosed parts of Waterford Wedgwood. A second New York-based firm, Clarion Capital, joined the negotiations last week and met Waterford workers Thursday but has yet to confirm a formal bid for any assets.
Waterford Crystal closed amid crippling debts
(APW_ENG_20090130.1313)
1) Bankruptcy officials shut down the debt-crippled Waterford Crystal factory Friday, provoking a furious response from workers who jostled security guards and vowed to occupy their world-famous workplace indefinitely.
2) Union leaders warned that more than 200 workers would refuse to leave the factory in the city of Waterford, southeast Ireland, until the receivers handling Waterford Wedgwood PLC's bankruptcy proceedings reversed the closure.
3) The approximately 650 remaining Irish employees at the iconic plant had already been reduced to working part-time as the company negotiated with potential American buyers to take over part or all of the business.
4) Waterford Crystal is widely regarded as the most famous producer of hand-cut lead glass worldwide. Founded by a Czech immigrant in 1948, the crystal plant enjoyed growing success in the 1980s and 1990s, and at its height employed more than 3,000 people at three Irish locations.
5) Traditionally Americans account for about half of Waterford Crystal sales -- a key factor in Waterford's failure to record a profit since 2002, when the U.S. dollar fell into chronic weakness versus the euro. The company also has battled high Irish labor costs versus growing Eastern European competition, while consumer tastes have been shifting in favor of lighter, more practical glassware.
6) The Waterford Crystal closure is the latest sign of a growing financial crisis in Ireland, where the central bank forecast Thursday that the economy will shrink 4 percent this year and unemployment will jump to a 13-year high as the collapse of the housing market hurts the wider economy.
7) David Carson, the receiver still negotiating with two U.S. private equity firms, said in a statement Friday that all Waterford Crystal workers had been laid off with immediate effect and the factory -- including its tourist center, one of Ireland's top tourist attractions -- would be closed indefinitely.
8) Carson held out hope that both the factory and visitors center might eventually reopen under new ownership. Later, he said the tourist center probably would reopen soon but not the factory.
9) Waterford Crystal's unionized workers discovered their fate Friday as rumors spread by e-mail and cell phone text. Afternoon shift workers and hundreds of other Waterford employees past and present converged on the plant -- but were barred by private security guards whom the receiver had hired to deter labor unrest.
10) Irish national broadcaster RTE broadcast footage showing the crowd trying to push its way into the tourist center, a guard pushing one man into a plate-glass wall and partly shattering it, and union officials appealing to "the lads" to calm down. Police who later intervened reported no arrests and no serious injuries during the scuffles.
11) Instead, the city's shops began donating food, drinks and other goods to help the protesting workers extend their protest -- for how long, nobody seemed certain.
12) Workers' relatives arrived with pillows, sleeping bags and duvets and union officials drew up rosters designed to keep at least 100 protesters inside the building through the weekend.
13) Walter Cullen, an official from the Unite labor union that represents Waterford workers, said Carson had told him by phone he couldn't wait any longer for an American "white knight" investor.
14) "He told me he had run out of money," Cullen said.
15) Nonetheless, Cullen said the protesting workers would leave the factory "only if the decision of the receiver is reversed."
16) Eleven of Waterford Wedgwood's 14-member board of directors resigned this month, including its two major investors, Irish publishing magnate Tony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris. The pair personally invested more than euro400 million to keep the company afloat in recent years -- and today own more than half of Waterford Wedgwood's virtually worthless stock.
17) The company in recent years has slashed operations in its traditional heartlands and shifted production overseas. Waterford-branded crystal increasingly comes from Eastern Europe, not Ireland, while Wedgwood china is crafted chiefly in Indonesia, not England.
18) But Waterford Wedgwood's red ink kept rising. Its perennial struggle to borrow money and float new shares finally reached breaking point last year amid tightening credit markets worldwide. The Irish government refused a company plea to underwrite private bank loans, and O'Reilly and Goulandris decided someone else must lead the next bailout.
19) Waterford Wedgwood filed for bankruptcy protection Jan. 5, and a week later more than 350 people were laid off from the Wedgwood china side of the operation. Earlier this week, the Waterford side of the business stopped making payments to more than 250 recently laid-off workers, compounding its longer-term failure to pay full pension benefits to retired glassworkers.
20) The company has identified a U.S. private equity firm, KPS Capital Partners of New York, as the leading bidder for undisclosed parts of Waterford Wedgwood. A second New York-based firm, Clarion Capital, joined the negotiations last week and met Waterford workers Thursday but has yet to confirm a formal bid for any assets.
2009-02-01
Ireland: US firm makes bid for Waterford Crystal
(APW_ENG_20090201.0707)
1) An American private equity firm is bidding to buy Waterford Crystal and keep the iconic hand-cut glassmaker operating in Ireland, a government minister said Sunday.
2) Martin Cullen, a lawmaker who represents the city of Waterford, spoke as hundreds of laid-off glassworkers prepared for a third straight night of occupying their workplace. Bankruptcy officials ordered the factory to close Friday because funds for paying more than 700 staff had run out. Furious workers stormed into the factory's tourist center and vowed not to come out until the shutdown was reversed.
3) Cullen said a New York-based buyout specialist, Clarion Capital Partners, made an undisclosed offer Saturday night to the government, union leaders and David Carson, the Dublin accountant overseeing the sale or disposal of the debt-crippled crystal giant.
4) Clarion Capital declined to comment. It is being advised by John Foley, a former chief executive of Waterford Crystal.
5) Cullen said Clarion officials in Dublin and Waterford over the past week "have lodged a substantial bid for the company, and clearly they have a very deep interest in maintaining the plant in Waterford."
6) He contrasted that with a rival, also undisclosed bid made last month by another New York investment group, KPS Capital Partners, that reportedly wants to acquire ownership of the Waterford brand -- but shut down Irish production in favor of lower-cost Eastern Europe, where most Waterford-branded glass already is produced.
7) Walter Cullen, a leader of the Unite labor union that represents most Waterford workers, said employees originally scheduled to work Monday would turn up as usual even though no glassware is being produced. Relatives and local businesses have brought mattresses and other sleeping gear so the workers can maintain their 24-hour vigil and prevent security staff from locking up the factory.
8) Cullen said the protest -- and associated public rallies outside the factory that have attracted thousands of locals despite foul weather -- "shows that this is more than a job, more than a plant. It is a community built by generations of Waterford people."
9) "There is too much life and too much of a future for it to be put to the sword," he said.
10) Government and union officials say Clarion is interested in acquiring only the crystal side of Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the conglomerate created in 1986 by a merger of Waterford Glass Ltd. with the English china company Wedgwood. Wedgwood was founded in 1759, Waterford in 1948.
11) The luxury wares company thrived throughout the 1990s but has fallen into increasingly desperate financial shape throughout this decade. Its income has been undermined by the decline in the U.S. dollar, cheaper competition in Eastern Europe and Asia, and modern consumer appetites for more durable, dishwasher-safe tableware.
12) Waterford Crystal in recent years sought to increase sales by designing simpler, tougher glassware often tied to celebrity designers -- and, to the dismay of traditionalists, cut costs by using Eastern European competitors to produce Waterford-branded lines.
13) But such moves proved inadequate to reverse debts driven by high Irish labor costs and the euro's chronic strength versus the dollar. Americans traditionally account for half of all Waterford sales.
14) The majority owners of Waterford Wedgwood, Irish publishing kingpin Tony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris, personally sank more than euro400 million into the company to keep it afloat. But they admitted defeat late last year after underwriting a final, failed share flotation and failing to persuade the government to act as guarantor for more bank loans.
2009-02-27
US firm to buy Waterford Wedgwood PLC
(APW_ENG_20090227.1221)
1) Administrators for collapsed china and glassware maker Waterford Wedgwood PLC said Friday that an American private equity firm has agreed a deal to buy the company.
2) The New York-based KPS Capital Partners has agreed an undisclosed deal for the firm, which was formed by an amalgamation of a pottery factory in central England and a crystal factory in southeast Ireland. Administrator Angus Martin said he expects the deal to be finalized next month.
3) Waterford Wedgwood employs around 7,700 people worldwide, including around 1,500 in Britain and 210 in Ireland, but became the latest iconic European company to succumb to the global economic slowdown and credit squeeze.
4) It thrived throughout the 1990s, but the luxury wares retailer saw its income shrunk by the decline of the U.S. dollar -- Americans traditionally account for half of all Waterford sales -- cheaper competition in Eastern Europe and Asia, and demand for more durable, dishwasher-safe tableware.
5) Wedgwood has been an iconic name in British pottery for 250 years, after its founder Josiah Wedgwood opened the first factory in Stoke-on-Trent, England, in 1759, while Waterford Crystal traces its lineage to a factory opened in Waterford, southeast Ireland in 1783.
6) Waterford acquired Wedgwood in 1986 to form the present company, listing on the stock exchange and expanding overseas in the 1990s before buying fellow Stoke-on-Trent ceramics maker Royal Doulton in 2005.
7) The business has now mainly shifted offshore, where it employs 5,800 people, including 1,500 people at a plant in Jakarta, Indonesia, which produces most of the company's ceramics. Most crystal production is handed by Eastern European subcontractors.
8) Deloitte said that the deal with KPS was conditional on acquiring Waterford Wedgwood's assets overseas.
US firm to buy Waterford Wedgwood PLC
(APW_ENG_20090227.1413)
1) Administrators for bankrupt china and glassware maker Waterford Wedgwood PLC announced Friday that an American private equity firm has reached a deal to buy the company, but most details remained murky.
2) The Deloitte accountants handling the sale in Britain and Ireland respectively, Angus Martin and David Carson, both declined to reveal key terms of the salvage plan by KPS Capital Partners, a corporate buyout specialist -- most obviously the purchase price.
3) In a prepared statement the bankruptcy officials suggested that KPS intends to take over the whole company within the next month -- but only if they can buy the company's non-European operations at the same time, which remains uncertain.
4) New York-based KPS did not return several calls seeking comment.
5) Waterford Wedgwood sought bankruptcy protection two months ago after its latest stock flotation fizzled and banks refused to advance more loans amid crippling debts and the global credit crunch.
6) Virtually the entire board of Waterford Wedgwood, including majority shareholders Tony O'Reilly and Peter Goulandris, resigned -- after the two had spent five years sinking more than euro400 million ($550 million) of their personal fortunes into trying to keep the company going.
7) The Dublin-based company still employs around 7,700 people worldwide, including around 1,500 in England and 210 in Ireland, despite a spate of no-warning layoffs in recent weeks -- most dramatically the surprise shutdown of the crystal plant four weeks ago.
8) KPS' silence Friday left key questions unanswered: Does it plan to keep any significant British and Irish manufacturing in operation, with how many workers? To what extent will it take on board the company's hundreds of millions in debts? Is it obligated to help fix the company's broken-down pension plan?
9) That uncertainty spurred Waterford Crystal workers to vow to maintain a round-the-clock vigil indefinitely at their closed workplace until they get acceptable answers to those questions. For the past four weeks, several hundred crystal craftsmen past and present have been occupying the factory's tourist center, the key attraction in the same-named Irish city, in protest at the shutdown.
10) Waterford union organizer Jimmy Kelly said that, until KPS makes its plans clear, "the sit-in at the Waterford Crystal visitor center -- which has done so much to maintain morale and show to the world the passion the workers have for the past, present and future of the company -- will continue."
11) In Wedgwood's central English base of Stoke-on-Trent, Mayor Mark Meredith said he would plead with KPS representatives to maintain jobs and production in the city. "Wedgwood belongs in Stoke-on-Trent," he said.
12) Wedgwood has been an iconic name in British pottery for 250 years, after its founder Josiah Wedgwood opened the first Stoke factory in 1759. Waterford Crystal traces its lineage to a factory opened in Waterford, southeast Ireland, in 1783.
13) Waterford acquired Wedgwood in 1986 to form the present company. It listed on the British and Irish stock exchanges, expanded overseas in the 1990s, and bought fellow Stoke-on-Trent ceramics maker Royal Doulton in 2005.
14) The company thrived throughout the 1990s but has plummeted into deepening red ink since 2002. The chronic weakness of the U.S. dollar hit the Waterford division particularly hard, because Americans typically account for half of all crystal sales. Cheaper competition in Eastern Europe and Asia, along with modernizing consumer tastes favoring more durable, dishwasher-safe tableware, also took its toll.
15) In response, the company has gradually closed factories and cut staff in their British and Irish heartlands and moved production largely overseas.
16) Wedgwood's production since 2005 has concentrated on a state-of-the-art factory in Indonesia that today employs 1,500 ceramics workers. Most of Waterford's crystal lines have been handed to Eastern European subcontractors.
2009-12-27
NYC ' s New Year ' s Eve ball gets new crystal
(APW_ENG_20091227.0440)
1) The New Year's Eve crystal ball that drops in Times Square will have a new kind of sparkle when it descends at the stroke of midnight Thursday, and revelers will be able to toast 2010 without popping a cork.
2) Organizers of the celebration unveiled a new design Sunday for nearly 300 Waterford crystal triangles to be installed on the giant ball. The crystals feature an interlocking ribbon pattern, woven into a Celtic knot, to illustrate the theme for 2010, "Let There Be Courage."
3) They also demonstrated a new "Clink-Clink" iPhone application for virtual toasts, which Waterford helped design. It enables two people make a toast with images of Waterford champagne flutes and cocktail glasses displayed on their phones' tiny screens.
4) "It is a way for people to share a virtual toast all around the world," said Regan Iglesia, Waterford's senior brand director.
5) Iglesia joined the producers of the New Year's Eve celebration, Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins and Countdown Entertainment President Jeffrey Straus, at a news conference at the ball's home at 1 Times Square.
6) Some 288 of the ball's 2,668 Waterford crystal triangles will be replaced this year with new ones featuring the Celtic knot design. Straus said it evokes the yellow ribbons that welcome home soldiers or red ribbons for AIDS awareness.
7) The triangles are custom-built to withstand high winds, snow, rain and temperature fluctuations in their spot 400 feet (120 meters) above Times Square.
8) The ball drop tradition dates to 1907.
2010-01-05
Ireland ' s Waterford Crystal factory put on sale
(APW_ENG_20100105.0337)
1) Ireland's historical Waterford Crystal factory is for sale one year after its parent company went bankrupt and sold its brands and many assets to an American private equity firm, the plant's liquidators confirmed Tuesday.
2) Bankruptcy officials shut the debt-crippled factory in January 2009, ending more than 60 years of lead-crystal production in the southeast city of Waterford. The new owners of the Waterford brand, KPS Capital Partners of New York, have already shifted production to Germany and Eastern Europe.
3) However, KPS never bought the factory itself in Waterford, where local business and tourist chiefs had hoped that a white-knight investor might step in to revive production on the 38-acre (15-hectare) site.
4) David Carson, the Irish accountant overseeing the demise of Waterford Crystal's Irish operations, said the factory is being offered for sale as a development site rather than as a continuing operation.
5) The decision follows a November internet auction of the vast bulk of the plant's manufacturing equipment to bidders from Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The centerpiece of the factory, a furnace capable of holding 50 tons of molten glass, remains unsold.
6) Irish real-estate experts say the site and buildings are worth between (EURO)10 million and (EURO)20 million ($15 million to $30 million) -- but could lie idle for years given Ireland's moribund market for commercial property.
7) KPS continues to employ about 50 people at the Waterford site in the city at its visitors center and product-marketing offices. But more than 1,800 former Waterford Crystal employees have lost their pensions as part of the company's collapse.
8) The city of Waterford has been particularly hard hit by Ireland's recession. Several other major city employers, including U.S. contact-lens maker Bausch & Lomb and Israeli drugmaker Teva, also announced major layoffs in 2009.
Ireland ' s Waterford Crystal factory put on sale
(APW_ENG_20100105.0338)
1) Ireland's historical Waterford Crystal factory is for sale one year after its parent company went bankrupt and sold its brands and many assets to an American private equity firm, the plant's liquidators confirmed Tuesday.
2) Bankruptcy officials shut the debt-crippled factory in January 2009, ending more than 60 years of lead-crystal production in the southeast city of Waterford. The new owners of the Waterford brand, KPS Capital Partners of New York, have already shifted production to Germany and Eastern Europe.
3) However, KPS never bought the factory itself in Waterford, where local business and tourist chiefs had hoped that a white-knight investor might step in to revive production on the 38-acre (15-hectare) site.
4) David Carson, the Irish accountant overseeing the demise of Waterford Crystal's Irish operations, said the factory is being offered for sale as a development site rather than as a continuing operation.
5) The decision follows a November internet auction of the vast bulk of the plant's manufacturing equipment to bidders from Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The centerpiece of the factory, a furnace capable of holding 50 tons of molten glass, remains unsold.
6) Irish real-estate experts say the site and buildings are worth between euro10 million and euro20 million ($15 million to $30 million) -- but could lie idle for years given Ireland's moribund market for commercial property.
7) KPS continues to employ about 50 people at the Waterford site in the city at its visitors center and product-marketing offices. But more than 1,800 former Waterford Crystal employees have lost their pensions as part of the company's collapse.
8) The city of Waterford has been particularly hard hit by Ireland's recession. Several other major city employers, including U.S. contact-lens maker Bausch & Lomb and Israeli drugmaker Teva, also announced major layoffs in 2009.
Ireland ' s Waterford Crystal factory put on sale
(APW_ENG_20100105.0841)
1) Ireland's Waterford Crystal factory is for sale one year after its parent company went bankrupt and sold its brands and many assets to an American private equity firm, the plant's liquidators confirmed Tuesday.
2) Bankruptcy officials shut the debt-crippled factory in January 2009, ending more than 60 years of lead-crystal production in the southeast city of Waterford. The new owners of the Waterford brand, KPS Capital Partners of New York, have already shifted production to Germany and Eastern Europe.
3) However, KPS never bought the factory itself in Waterford, where local business and tourist chiefs had hoped that a white-knight investor might step in to revive production on the 38-acre (15-hectare) site.
4) David Carson, the Irish accountant overseeing the demise of Waterford Crystal's Irish operations, said the factory is being offered for sale as a development site rather than as a continuing operation.
5) The decision follows a November internet auction of the vast bulk of the plant's manufacturing equipment to bidders from Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The centerpiece of the factory, a furnace capable of holding 50 tons of molten glass, remains unsold.
6) Irish real-estate experts say the site and buildings are worth (EURO)10 million to (EURO)20 million ($15 million to $30 million) -- but could lie idle for years given Ireland's moribund market for commercial property.
7) KPS continues to employ about 50 people at the Waterford site in the city at its visitors center and product-marketing offices. But more than 1,800 former Waterford Crystal employees have lost their pensions as part of the company's collapse.
8) The city of Waterford has been particularly hard hit by Ireland's recession. Several other major city employers, including U.S. contact-lens maker Bausch & Lomb and Israeli drugmaker Teva, also announced major layoffs in 2009.
9) Waterford's council and KPS are working together to develop a new Waterford Crystal-themed tourist center in the city, with construction tentatively scheduled to finish in June. The council is investing (EURO)20 million ($30 million) in the project, where niche production of high-end crystal pieces, such as trophies, would continue.
10) City manager Michael Walsh said he hoped the project would create about 100 jobs and keep drawing tourists, who long made the factory one of Ireland's most-visited attractions.
11) "Waterford Crystal makes up a significant part of the heritage here and we believe this is the best end result after a very traumatic event for the city," Walsh said.
Ireland ' s Waterford Crystal factory put on sale
(APW_ENG_20100105.0842)
1) Ireland's Waterford Crystal factory is for sale one year after its parent company went bankrupt and sold its brands and many assets to an American private equity firm, the plant's liquidators confirmed Tuesday.
2) Bankruptcy officials shut the debt-crippled factory in January 2009, ending more than 60 years of lead-crystal production in the southeast city of Waterford. The new owners of the Waterford brand, KPS Capital Partners of New York, have already shifted production to Germany and Eastern Europe.
3) However, KPS never bought the factory itself in Waterford, where local business and tourist chiefs had hoped that a white-knight investor might step in to revive production on the 38-acre (15-hectare) site.
4) David Carson, the Irish accountant overseeing the demise of Waterford Crystal's Irish operations, said the factory is being offered for sale as a development site rather than as a continuing operation.
5) The decision follows a November internet auction of the vast bulk of the plant's manufacturing equipment to bidders from Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The centerpiece of the factory, a furnace capable of holding 50 tons of molten glass, remains unsold.
6) Irish real-estate experts say the site and buildings are worth euro10 million to euro20 million ($15 million to $30 million) -- but could lie idle for years given Ireland's moribund market for commercial property.
7) KPS continues to employ about 50 people at the Waterford site in the city at its visitors center and product-marketing offices. But more than 1,800 former Waterford Crystal employees have lost their pensions as part of the company's collapse.
8) The city of Waterford has been particularly hard hit by Ireland's recession. Several other major city employers, including U.S. contact-lens maker Bausch & Lomb and Israeli drugmaker Teva, also announced major layoffs in 2009.
9) Waterford's council and KPS are working together to develop a new Waterford Crystal-themed tourist center in the city, with construction tentatively scheduled to finish in June. The council is investing euro20 million ($30 million) in the project, where niche production of high-end crystal pieces, such as trophies, would continue.
10) City manager Michael Walsh said he hoped the project would create about 100 jobs and keep drawing tourists, who long made the factory one of Ireland's most-visited attractions.
11) "Waterford Crystal makes up a significant part of the heritage here and we believe this is the best end result after a very traumatic event for the city," Walsh said.
2010-07-13
US woman gets prison sentence for sex with son
(APW_ENG_20100713.0160)
1) A Detroit-area woman who pleaded guilty to having sex with the biological son she gave up for adoption and later tracked down on the Internet has been sentenced to nine years to 30 years in prison.
2) Thirty-six-year-old Aimee L. Sword of Waterford Township apologized at her sentencing Monday in Oakland County Circuit Court. She had pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in a deal with prosecutors.
3) Police say Sword used Facebook in 2008 to find her son, who's now 16. She gave him up for adoption as an infant.
4) He testified they had sex in Waterford Township and Grand Rapids.
5) Waterford Township is 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.