Israel's Koor Posts Q3 Loss On MA, Financing Cost

Israeli holding company Koor Industries reported a large quarterly loss on Tuesday due to a loss at its agrochemicals affiliate MA Industries, as well as higher financing expenses.

Koor, a subsidiary of IDB Holding Corp, posted a third-quarter net loss of 359 million shekels ($98.6 million), compared with profit of 512 million a year earlier, when it recorded a gain of 692 million shekels from the sale of Credit Suisse shares.

Koor holds a 3.24% stake, or 38.46 million shares, in the Swiss bank. The strengthening of the Swiss franc in the quarter increased the value of its stake by 266 million shekels but also generated financing expenses in the same amount.

At market price, the stake is worth 5.64 billion shekels but the value on Koor's books is 6.95 billion, the company said. Since July 2008 Koor has gained 3.4 billion shekels from its stake in Credit Suisse, through the selling of shares and from dividends.

MA Industries, one of the world's largest generic agrochemical makers, earlier on Wednesday posted a quarterly net loss of $56.2 million compared with a $17.5 million loss a year earlier. Excluding one-off items largely related to the restructuring of Brazilian subsidiary Milenia, MA lost $22.7 million.

Koor owns 47% of MA, whose controlling stake is being pursued by China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina).