The German company Aurubis AG, Europe's largest copper producer, has been the victim of massive theft that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the Financial Times.
The company has discovered discrepancies in the numbers of stocks and supplies of metal in Germany copper processing division. The management of Aurubis came to the conclusion that it suffered from "criminal activity".
The case is handled by the German Criminal Police Department. Aurubis cannot yet give an accurate estimate of possible losses, but does not exclude that we can talk about 100-300 million euros (low, three-digit-million-euro range).
As a result, the company warned that it will not be able to meet its pre-tax target of EUR 450-550 million for the current financial year ending in September.
Last year, Aurubis produced 1.1 million tons of copper and generated revenue of EUR 18.5 billion euro.
Aurubis shares fell 15% in trading on Friday. The share price of steel firm Salzgitter AG, which owns a 30% stake in the company, also fell by more than 6%.
