Eimskipafélag Íslands hf. has received summons from Alcoa Fjarðaál sf., against Samskip hf., Samskip Holding B.V., Eimskip Ísland ehf. as well as Eimskipafélag Íslands hf.
The summons claim is ISK 3,086,000,000, together with penal interests from 24 May 2024, against the companies in solidum, for Alcoa’s alleged loss, with reference to the subject matter of the Icelandic Competition Authority’s decision no. 33/2023, which concerned the period 2008-2013.
The financial claim of Alcoa is entirely based on a memorandum by the consulting firm Analytica ehf., which contains a so-called preliminary assessment, dated February 21, 2024. The consulting firm Hagrannsóknir sf., which is led by scholars dr. Birgir Þór Runólfsson, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Iceland, and dr. Ragnar Árnason, Professor Emeritus, has reviewed Analytica’s memorandum and prepared a report on their findings.
Their conclusion is decisive that its shortcomings are so severe that the memorandum is entirely unusable as an assessment of the alleged loss. The report by Hagrannsóknir was presented at Eimskip’s Q2 investor meeting which was held last week, and can be found in Icelandic here.
It is the Company‘s assessment that the claim is baseless, and the conditions of tort law are not fulfilled. Furthermore, the claimant’s alleged loss and therefore its claim is not based on any established documentation. The Company has thus instructed its counsel to defend against the claim.
For further information please contact Edda Rut Björnsdóttir, Executive Vice President of Human Resources & Communications, tel: +354 825-3399 or Guðbjörg Birna Björnsdóttir Head of Investor Relations, tel: +354 844-4752, or email: investors@eimskip.is.
