News Parkiet

Corporate earnings

Blue-chip earnings topped 4.8 billion in 3Q

Aggregate third quarter earnings of ten Polish companies that are part of WIG20 blue-chip index rose to as much as 4.8 billion zloty, a survey shows. Just three of the eighteen, including Orbis hotel group, fixed-line telco Netia S.A. and information technology company ComputerLand reported lower earnings than last year's figures.

Civil engineering

Budimex to boost bottom line

with home sales

Ferrovial unit Budimex S.A., Poland's biggest building contractor, plans to either build or sell as many as 2300 apartments this year, the company said yesterday. Higher margin residential construction sales, worth some 75 million zloty in the nine months to October, may help boost Budimex overall margins depressed by unprofitable road building projects.

Petrochemicals

Orlen reports 3Q earnings

Poland's biggest oil refiner PKN Orlen reported net earnings of 980 million zloty, some 17 percent more than last year after it begun consolidating profits of its Czech subsidiary, Unipetrol petrochemicals group. Sales of Plock-based Orlen totaled 13 billion zloty, or 4.5 billion zloty more than last year.

Orlen said it is one of six bidders for Lithuania's Mozheiki refinery. It said it plans to buy as many as 250 gas stations in neighboring Germany, where it owns a retail unit between now and 2009

Media

Broker FM bids for Radio Wawa

Broker FM radio broadcaster, owner of pop radio station RMF FM said it has made a bid for Warsaw's Radio Wawa, now owned by Germany's Eurocast. Sources at Broker FM say the group has some 40 million zloty in cash and credit lines for acquisitions and investments in Poland and elsewhere.