Bioplastics maker Metabolix Inc. will end business operations in Germany at the end of 2014, according to documents the company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Cambridge, Mass.,-based company is looking to focus resources on its core biopolymer business, a spokesperson said. In keeping with that business plan, the board of directors approved plans to discontinue the operations of its wholly-owned German subsidiary, Metabolix GmbH, and potentially pursue a sale of all or part of the subsidiary.
Metabolix GmbH is mainly active in the marketing and sale of compounded resins used in compostable film and bag applications.
According to the Form 8-K filing, Metabolix expects to have to take a $900,000 hit for the third quarter of 2014 — $750,000 of it non-cash related — as a loss on disposal of discontinued operations. But the anticipated net annual cash savings from closing up shop in Germany is estimated at $2 million per year, starting in the final quarter of 2014.