Horsehead Holding Corp posted a $6 million loss in August, stretching its cumulative losses to $81 million since the Pittsburgh-based zinc recycler filed for bankruptcy February 2, according to a new court filing. But the August deficit narrowed slightly from a $6.5 million loss in July.
Horsehead told the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware Friday that its Zochem subsidiary in Ontario, Canada, posted a net profit of $186,000 in August while its International Metals Reclamation Co. subsidiary in Elmwood, Pennsylvania, posted a net profit of $48,000.
In August, Horsehead recorded net sales of $22.2 million, up slightly from $21.1 million in July. Cumulative net sales totaled $190 million since the Chapter 11 reorganization filing, with total cost of sales, excluding depreciation and amortization, amounting to $185.5 million.
The company is expected to exit bankruptcy soon after Judge Christopher Sontchi accepted Horsehead's reorganization plan, which happened September 9. Under that plan, Horsehead was sold to its noteholders, led by Greywolf Capital Management, following a protracted court battle over its value.
Horsehead's credit group valued the company at about $280 million, far below the $770 million to $850 million that the company's official equity committee estimated. But The judge placed the value at about $650 million.
Still uncertain is the fate of Horsehead's relatively new, $550 million zinc plant in Mooresboro, North Carolina, idled since January. An attorney involved in the case has said the troubled facility is expected to remain shut for now, until new owners have time to determine its ultimate fate.
Mooresboro produced only 4,100 mt of zinc in second-quarter 2015, with output rising to 9,700 mt in Q3 2015.
During the bankruptcy case, Horsehead described the plant as virtually worthless, saying it would cost another $117 million to get back up to running at its nameplate capacity of 155,000 mt/year.
