News Parkiet

Corporate earnings

SEZ companies earned PLN 2.81 billion last year, survey shows

Polish and international companies doing business in special economic zones reported earnings of some 2.81 billion zloty ($820 million) last year, a survey shows.They saved a total of 550 million zloty in taxes because profits of corporations registered in special economic zones are taxed at a lower rate.

Privatization

PGNiG workers to cut gas supplies

Trade unions at PGNiG natural gas monopoly say they?ll cut off deadbeat customers unless the government goes ahead with the company?s privatization. Workers at PGNiG stand to receive 15 percent stake in the company when it goes private. They say they will shut down natural gas supplies to Porcelana Śląska china manufacturer as early as this week. Other PGNiG customers that may be cut off include several fertilizer plants and glass manufacturers.

Real estate

GTC profits on a roller-coaster ride

Real estate developer Globe Trade Centre reported late Monday its second quarter profits were up 25 percent to as much as 15.3 million zloty. However, earnings at the Warsaw-based group were down 86 percent from the first quarter, when the company booked extra, non-cash profits by adjusting the value of new real estate projects to their fair value.

GTC?s revenues, mainly from sales of luxury homes at Konstancja housing estate and commercial rent from its shopping malls and office properties rose 42 percent to PLN 78.8 million. Operating profits nearly doubled to PLN 50.9 million.

Globe Trade Centre will complete construction of four new office buildings with more than 63 000 square meters of office space by the year?s end, senior executive Mariusz Kozłowski said. They include two office towers in Warsaw, as well as GTC House in the Serbian capital of Belgrade and America House in Bucharest, Romania.

Information technology

New shares of Comp SA to start trading today

Some 445 000 newly issued shares of Warsaw-based encryption device manufacturer Comp SA will begin trading on the WSE today, boosting the company?s free float by as much as 100 percent. Comp raised over 20 million zloty in a small secondary offering in late June to finance several acquisitions and to increase the number of shares traded on the exchange. However, retail investors bought just 50 000 shares of the closely held company. The rest went to 15 institutional investors, who are much less likely to sell their stakes.

Footwear industry

Protektor hits new low

Shares of army contractor LZPS Protektor fell 2.56 percent to close at 9.5 zloty yesterday, the lowest in more than eighteen months after the company reported a second-quarter loss. A major supplier of combat boots for the Polish military, LZPS lost 0.8 million zloty in the three months to July compared with a 3 million zloty profit last year. Quarterly sales were down almost 70 percent to just 4.4 million zloty, or $1.28 million.

Retailing

Monnari to go public next year

Clothing retailer Monnari Trade plans to go public next year, the head of IDMSA.pl brokerage told PARKIET yesterday. Monnari, which markets upscale clothing for women over thirty plans to raise 4 million zloty in a private placement first, the company said. ?Monnari will go public in 2006?, IDMSA?s Grzegorz Leszczyński said.

Łódź, central Poland-based company plans to add 13 new retail outlets this year to the 43 it already owns. A smallish firm even by Polish standards, Monnari reported 2004 earnings of 3.16 million zloty on sales of approximately 32 million zloty. Chief executive Marek Banasiak says Monnari expects revenues of some 47 million zloty this year.