Losses soar at Ambrian Capital after write-down
LOSSES at precious metals specialist Ambrian Capital more than doubled after it made a £2.15m goodwill write-down on its broking business.
The impairment charge on Ambrian Partners, a corporate finance and research subsidiary, pushed the group to a £1.18m pre-tax loss for the half-year to 30 June, up 156 per cent on the same period last year.
Ambrian Capital, a natural resources investment bank which last year launched a private equity business, yesterday said the volatility in global equity markets was behind the write-down on the broker.
The group’s metals business was hit by the Japanese earthquake in March, which caused the closure of a number of smelters, and the “subdued” Chinese demand for refined copper.
Robert Ashley, group chief executive, said: “In relative terms Ambrian has had a reasonable trading performance during the period, but economic and political headwinds are making for a more difficult second half.”