South Africa’s rand was little-changed in early trade on Thursday as traders refrained from making any large moves while results trickled in from local government elections.
Frigoglass widens second-quarter loss on Russia weakness
Greek refrigerator maker Frigoglass widened its net loss in the second quarter, hurt by tough conditions in its key market Russia.
The company, which supplies Coca-Cola HBC and European brewers, reported a net loss of 491,000 euros ($547,000) in the second quarter versus a loss of 94,000 euros in the same period a year ago.
Frigoglass said soft demand for beer in Russia and currency headwinds in Nigeria will continue for the remainder of the year but the company will mitigate the impact by cost cutting.
Frigoglass, which has been facing financial difficulties due to lower demand for its products in Europe and in Nigeria, announced last month it will shut its Chinese plant by September and shift production to India and Indonesia to save costs.
The move will lead to annual cost savings of about 2 million euros, starting from the last quarter of 2016, it said on Thursday.
