HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - The Hamburg-based copper producer and recycling specialist Aurubis has reported a slump in profits following cases of theft and fraud. Group CEO Roland Harings will explain on Wednesday (10:00 a.m.) how strongly the losses will affect the bottom line. The full income statement for 2022/23 (until the end of September) was actually due to be presented on December 6, but then had to be postponed by two weeks. "The reason for the postponement is the increased time required to investigate the criminal acts against Aurubis in the course of preparing and auditing the financial statements."

According to preliminary figures, the fiscal year ended with an operating pre-tax profit of € 349 million, as Aurubis AG announced in November. Compared to the previous year, this represents a decline of around 34 percent. The operating result was "significantly influenced by the financial effects of the criminal acts against Aurubis, which were recognized in profit or loss in the past fiscal year", it said.

Aurubis was the victim of a large-scale fraud this year, with losses estimated at almost 200 million euros. The fraud was discovered during regular checks of the metal inventory. There were considerable deviations from the target stock as well as deviations in special samples of certain recycling deliveries.

Aurubis assumes that manipulated samples with high levels of valuable metals were submitted, but that the deliveries then contained significantly less valuable metals - which ultimately led to over-invoicing. It had previously become known in June that a gang of thieves had allegedly stolen intermediate products containing precious metals from the company. The alleged perpetrators are now being tried at the Hamburg District Court.

Following the millions in losses caused by fraud, the company's management could face personnel consequences. "The Supervisory Board cannot currently rule out the possibility that the current Executive Board members will continue in office unchanged, nor can it rule out the premature separation of individual or several Executive Board members or the restructuring of the Executive Board," Aurubis announced the previous day after a meeting of the Supervisory Board. "It will probably make a decision on this in January or early February 2024."/kf/DP/jha