ACCOUNTS FOR a Dublin-based subsidiary of Australian building materials company James Hardie made a loss of $17.8 million (€13.7 million) for the year ended March 31st, 2011. This compares to a $25.5 million (€19.7 million) profit for its 2010 financial period.

James Hardie International Finance Limited provides finance and treasury services, including the advancing and lending of money, to various subsidiaries of its parent company, James Hardie.

It incurred a foreign exchange loss of $43.5 million (€33.6 million) on the retranslation of monetary assets and liabilities during the year, the accounts state.

Since year end, the company has received a capital contribution of $329 million from its parent company, as well as $453 million from a subsidiary, James Hardie Technology NTL Limited. The company has continued to advance loans and enter into new facility agreements with other group undertakings since year end, the accounts state.

James Hardie International Finance, which has a registered address on Harcourt Street in Dublin, employed an average of nine people during the year. It paid $760,000 in salaries, with social welfare and pension costs pushing its payroll bill up to $834,000.

James Hardie International Finance Limited is part of the James Hardie Industries group, which moved its headquarters from the Netherlands to Ireland last year for tax purposes. The company, which has operations in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Europe, is one of the world’s biggest cement companies.

James Osborne, who was recently appointed as chairman of Independent News and Media and is also a director of Ryanair, is a non-executive director at James Hardie.

Former Greencore chief executive David Dilger is also a non-executive director of James Hardie, as well as a director of James Hardie International Finance.