News Parkiet

Banking

PKO BP to start

giving away employee stock

Poland?s biggest lender, state-controlled PKO BP, said it would begin giving away as many as 105 million shares to 48.409 existing and former employees who were granted company stock as an incentive before the bank was privatized last year.

Based on yesterday?s closing price, PKO BP?s shares are worth about 2.5 billion zloty and account for 10.5 percent of outstanding stock.

Automotive industry

Dębica sees flat earnings this year

Goodyear unit in Poland is expecting earnings that will be similar to last year?s PLN 94 million, Firma Oponiarska Dębica, one of the country?s two major tire-makers said in an annual report to shareholders on Monday. Dębica, which is 60 percent owned by Goodyear, disclosed it paid as much as 96 million zloty ($30 million) in licensing fees to its parent.

Home furnishings

Novita launches

cost-cutting program

Flooring manufacturer Novita SA said Tuesday it plans to shut down money losing business line and fire workers in an attempt to restore profit margins. Zielona Góra-based company said it would lay off 74 workers, or 20 percent of the total and close down carpet manufacturing unit, offsetting negative impact of stronger Polish zloty and rising material expenses.

The economy

Corporate spending still tight, GUS says

A new study by Poland?s Main Office of Statistics, or GUS, indicates that corporate spending remains low except for capital expenditures by major exporters. Total corporate spending was up 9.2 percent last year, GUS said in a report published earlier this week.

Food processing accounted for about a quarter of last year?s spending as big food processing firms scrambled to upgrade their equipment. Car makers and manufacturers of home appliances were spending less money on upgrades, GUS said, even though these two sectors sell much of their output abroad.