News

The Hazchem Network has released its abbreviated financial statement for the year ending January 31, 2006, showing that its fixed assets have fallen to 147,729 from 209,356 in 2005. Debt increased to 229,528 in 2006 compared to 47,412 in 2005.

MD Ali Karim declined to comment last week and referred MT to Glyn Jones, chief executive of Palletline, which is a strategic partner and holds a 10% share. Jones tells MT: "The Hazchem Network is making progress as expected. It is continuing to improve.  "Month on month it is making very small and very welcome profit and generating cash. Who knows what to expect? These networks have a degree of volatility, exposed to consumer spending.

"It would take a bold man to forecast but we'd be extremely disappointed not to see a small profit at the end of this financial year. We are not getting relaxed about the business. I can't give you volume figures as they would look silly compared to other networks. Hazchem is still a start-up business. We are reasonably content.

"Palletline has not changed its shareholding. My job is to support Karim, who is a chemist, and support the board from a pallet perspective. Karim runs it day by day. Jim Scanlan [a founder-director, previously running Fortec] left six to nine months ago. I don't know where he has gone. I guess he thought it was time to move on. His forte is starting networks up. Maybe he thought he had other fish to fry," Jones says.