AbitibiBowater's Q2 loss doubles to $510M US

Insolvent paper giant AbitibiBowater, which has been operating under protection from its creditors since April, says it lost $510 million US in the second quarter, double its loss for the same period last year.

The loss amounted to $8.84 US per share and compared with a loss of $251 million US, or $4.36 per share, a year ago.

AbitibiBowater said it expects to report an operating loss of $285 million US, excluding interest expenses and one-time charges, compared with a loss of $63 million for the same quarter last year.

The figures are contained in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which was issued after markets closed Tuesday.

AbitibiBowater said it was unable to file its second-quarter report on Form 10-Q by the Aug. 10 deadline "primarily as a result of the significant time and effort required to prepare its consolidated financial statements" in accordance with bankruptcy rules.

Last week, the company announced it was cutting its head office staff by 25 per cent as part of a plan to trim overhead expenses by $100 million US a year. It has about 700 people working in head office functions, including 400 in Montreal.

AbitibiBowater also announced that market conditions have forced it to indefinitely idle two paper machines in Thunder Bay, Ont., effective Aug. 21. The move will affect 360 workers