Aurubis Struggles with Profit Drop after Fraud Issues
In a disheartening development, metal recycling giant Aurubis reported a significant drop in profits. The company's 2022/23 financial year earnings totalled 141 million euros, a stark contrast to the 715 million euros it made in the previous year. The upcoming dividend is expected to decrease from 1.80 to 1.40 euros per share. The operating pre-tax result experienced a substantial decrease, dropping by a third to 349 million euros, while turnover fell by 7.7% to 17.1 billion euros.
The company has been suffering from a series of unfortunate incidents, including large-scale fraud and a theft of intermediate products containing precious metals. In June, it was discovered that manipulated samples with high levels of valuable metals were delivered, only to find that the actual deliveries contained significantly less valuable metals. This led to the payment of inflated invoices worth almost 200 million euros. These fraudulent activities have had a profound impact on Aurubis' financial performance.
Furthermore, in June, it was reported that a gang of thieves had allegedly stolen intermediate products containing precious metals, which could further impact Aurubis' profits.
The board of directors may face changes as a result of these incidents. The Supervisory Board announced on Tuesday that they cannot rule out the possibility of continuing with the current Executive Board members or the separation of individual or several members. A decision will be made at the beginning of the year.
The metal industry in Germany has been shaken by these developments at Aurubis, with concerns spreading across the entire sector.
Additional Insights
Aurubis, with its operations based in Hamburg, a city renowned for its metal industry, has a rich history in the sector. However, the recent fraud and theft cases have dealt a severe blow to its financial health.
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Enrichment Data: The provided sources do not explicitly state that Aurubis' profit decline in the 2022/23 financial year was solely due to fraud cases. However, they suggest that these incidents had a significant impact on the company's financial performance. It is worth noting that Aurubis also experienced a general decrease in profits during this period. Additional sources or a more detailed report would be necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors contributing to Aurubis' profit decline.
