News Parkiet

Equity markets

SEC swamped by new IPO filings

More than 25 new companies may receive SEC clearance to list their shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange before the end of June, a source told PARKIET this week. The SEC, also known by its Polish name Komisja Giełd i Papierów Wartościowych has scheduled four meetings over the next seven weeks. ?We are planning to register about six new companies for public trading at each meeting. Obviously that?s just an estimate?, Zbigniew Mrowiec, deputy head of KPWiG said. The SEC is now working on about thirty IPO prospectuses filed by new companies, Mrowiec said.

One senior stockbroker says that at least some smaller companies that plan to go public will have to postpone their IPOs because the market is too small to absorb the number of new offerings.

Food industry

Polmos offering 23 times oversubscribed

This week?s privatization IPO of Polmos Białystok vodka distiller was more than 23 times oversubscribed by retail investors, the company said in a statement. Polish Treasury Ministry has sold 3.8 million shares of Polmos, best known for its ?Żubrówka? bison-brand vodka at 80 zloty a share. Retail investors who signed up early received a 2 percent discount.

Another big chunk of the company, some 61 percent of outstanding shares, will be sold to the highest bidder chosen from the three firms that offered to buy Polmos. They include Florida-based Central European Distribution Corporation, France?s Sobieski Dystrybucja and a smaller local competitor called Polmos Lublin.

Polmos Białystok has annual sales of more than a billion zloty and controls a fifth of the Polish market for hard liquor.

Information Technology

Softbank meeting postponed

Shareholders of Softbank SA, one of Poland?s top information technology providers for the banking industry, have decided to postpone a key decision on new stock issue that would dilute their holdings by about 40 percent.

Earlier this year Softbank has announced plans to sell new stock to pay for the purchase of two niche IT firms from its parent company, Prokom Software as well as two other acquisitions. The stock has fallen almost 15 percent since then.

Privatization

Donbas to file an injunction over steel plant sale

Ukraine?s Donbas Industrial Association says it will file an injunction to block sale of Huta Częstochowa steel plant, alleging irregularities in the privatization process. The deadline for exclusive talks between competing Mittal Steel and TF Silesia government agency expired on April 29, but the agency has asked for more time to give Mittal a chance to negotiate employee benefits package with Częstochowa?s workers. The government also said it would give Donbas an opportunity to improve its bid if they still want to buy the company.

Bonds market

Retail bond sales plunge

April sales of retail bonds fell to just 209 million zloty, less than half the monthly average of 580 million zloty since PKO BP begun selling the instruments in August 2003. Jan Kuźma, the head of PKO BP?s brokerage unit says investors were hoarding cash to pay their taxes, including capital gains tax. Market watchers also note that yields on the most popular two-year bonds have fallen from 7 to just 5.1 percent since November.

Information Technology

Optimus down despite stronger 1Q sales

Shares of Optimus PC-maker fell 5.33 percent to close at 7.1 zloty, the lowest in a year and half on Friday after an earnings report that showed the company is still losing money despite rising sales. One of Poland?s biggest distributors of PC computers and accessories, Optimus said it lost half a million zloty, partly because stronger Polish zloty has made computer parts more expensive, the company said. Sales were up 38 percent to as much as 44.4 million zloty.

Food industry

Atlanta reiterates earnings guidanceAtlanta Poland says it is on track to meet this year?s profit target of 6 million zloty after reporting first-quarter earnings that were almost 50 percent higher than last year. Small, Gdańsk-based bulk products distributor said it has earned 1.8 million zloty versus PLN 1.2 million a year ago because of renewed strength of the Polish zloty. Sales were nearly flat at 29.6 million zloty, less than a fifth of full-year estimates.