News Parkiet

Equity markets

PGNiG got ahead of itself by publishing IPO date, Socha says

State-owned natural gas distributor Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) acted prematurely when it published its IPO schedule, Treasury Minister Jacek Socha said yesterday. PGNiG said last week its shares would begin trading on the WSE on July 4.

PGNiG planned to sell as many as 900 milllion shares to the public between June 13 and 28. The company plans to raise about 1.5 billion zloty ($453 million) to raise money for new investments and debt repayment.

Equity analysts commenting on PGNiG offering said the IPO comes too soon after this month?s sale of Grupa Lotos refinery because it doesn?t give institutional investors enough time to reposition their portfolios and rebuild their cash positions.

Equity markets

Court ruling reverses VAT tax payments

Polish companies planning to sell new shares may be able to recover IPO-related VAT tax after a recent ruling by the European Constitutional Tribunal. Several publicly traded firms that have already paid the tax will now have the chance to recover the money. The ruling applies to firms that sold shares to the public after Poland's May 1, 2004 entry into the EU. Marcin Chomiuk, tax specialist from PriceWaterhouseCoopers says Polish tax authorities are unlikely to challenge the ruling.

WSE companies that may claim VAT tax refunds include Alma Market grocery retailer and pharmaceutical wholesaler Torfarm SA.

Building materials

Grupa Kęty signs new contract

Aluminum products manufacturer Grupa Kęty said on Monday its subsidiary Metalplast-Bielsko has won a 35-million zloty contract to build a new facade at Okęcie airport's Terminal Two building in Warsaw. Metalplast, a company with annual sales of around 175 million zloty, supplies about half of all aluminum profiles sold in Poland.

Equity markets

LOT preps for IPO next year

Poland's national airline PLL LOT is getting ready for an IPO on the Warsaw bourse, scheduled tentatively for early next year, chief executive Marek Grabarek said at an annual meeting of International Air Transport Association members in Tokyo, Japan. The head of state-owned airline denied media reports that Germany's Lufthansa is seeking to buy the company.

Polish government owns 68 percent of LOT. The remaining shares are held by company employees and by Swissair bankruptcy administrator.

Information technology

CSS hit by back tax claims

Shares of Computer Service Support, a major Warsaw-based IT training and outsourcing company fell 1.8 percent to close at 16.7 zloty yesterday after the firm said Polish tax authorities are demanding 2.1 million zloty tax payments. CSS said it would appeal Tax Office claim for VAT tax payment dating from late 2001. Several other Polish IT firms said they have received similar demands recently.

Chief executive Andrzej Woźniakowski has reiterated CSS' earnings forecast of 6.5 million zloty despite the tax claim and weaker than expected first-quarter. Woźniakowski, himself a major shareholder, said that CSS is already turning the corner after a 1.8 million zloty loss because of acquisition costs and delayed invoicing for some contracts.

Information Technology

Softbank unit closer to merger with Koma SA

IT services provider Softbank-Serwis, a wholly owned subsidiary of the publicly traded Softbank SA information technology group is moving towards a merger with Prokom Software hardware supplier Koma SA. The two firms are combining their operations by the end of this year, starting with the appointment of a new boss, Koma's CEO Leszek Cabaj.

Earlier this month Softbank shareholders have agreed to a 40 million zloty stock sale, issuing almost 1.5 million new shares to Prokom and other investors in return for a stake in Koma