News Parkiet

Banking

Three banks prepare for rebranding

At least two major banks may change their corporate brands this year, company officials say. Allied Irish-controlled Bank Zachodni WBK, which acquired its new name with the merger of Bank Zachodni and Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy, plans to change its name to something more 'neutral', company spokesman Piotr Gajdziński said. Another lender, Kredyt Bank, says it will change its brand name and logo to reflect its presence in Belgium's KBC group. ING Groep's ING Bank Śląski may also change its name, market watchers say.

Energy

POGC sale may be delayed

Privatization sale of the Polish Oil and Gas Company, scheduled for early summer, may be postponed because of a dispute among senior managers of Poland's natural gas monopoly. Several top executives blame former chief financial officer Jerzy Staniewski for the delays in the spin-off of its pipeline system into a separate company.

On March 30, POGC existing shareholders, including the government are supposed to vote on a 1.5 billion sale of new stock on the Warsaw bourse. Before the IPO, state-owned firm plans to buy back 6.75 percent eurobonds worth some 700 million euros.

Home furnishings

Krosno plans retail expansion

Poland's no. 1 glassware maker Krosno SA opened its third retail outlet in Kraków today, increasing the number of stores to three. The company, which has annual sales of nearly 320 million zloty ($110 million), says it plans to open several new stores in other major Polish cities.

Venture capital

VC is back in fashion

Polish venture capital funds launched eight new projects last year, up from just one in 2003, signaling the revival after a four-year low, industry representatives said at a conference yesterday. Publicly traded technology venture capital fund MCI Management took stakes in four new projects, while Poznań-based BB Capital bought three IT firms. However, the number of active venture capital funds is down to six, less than half the number at the height of Internet mania five years ago.

Utilities

Praterm sees higher earnings

District heating systems operator Praterm SA said it expects profits of at least 11 million zloty ($3.7 million) this year, up from last year's PLN 7.2 million. Sales are set to rise by more than 26 percent to 135 million zloty. 'These figures are conservative', chief executive Krzysztof Prucnal said, adding they exclude potential gains from future acquisitions and colder than expected winter season.

Founded in 1995, Praterm owns and operates ten district heating plants and one heat and power generating plant it bought from local government across Poland.

Furniture

Forte hits rock bottom

Shares of furniture maker Forte SA fell to their lowest since January 2004 on fears that its future earnings will suffer because of strong Polish zloty. Forte reported an 8.2 percent increase in fourth-quarter profits to as much as 9.2 million zloty on sales that were almost 18 percent higher. Nonetheless, company officials say, investors and analysts worry it won't be able to meet this year's sales targets.

'It's mass psychology, pure and simple. When people hear we're a big exporter, they start selling', Forte's Andrzej Korzeb says. 'We've made some estimates. Every time the euro gains or falls 10 percent against Polish zloty, our earnings are higher or lower by 1 to 1.5 percent.

Building materials

Polcolorit in a freefall

Shares of Polcolorit ceramic tile manufacturer nosedived 2.72 percent on heavy volume, closing at 2.86 zloty on Tuesday, the lowest since their IPO last December. Polcolorit, one of Poland's top 5 ceramic tile makers, raised more than 70 million zloty for itself and for its shareholders in an offering that was several times oversubscribed, but the stock kept falling almost continuously ever since it begun trading andThe company itself says its fundamentals remain strong and has slightly exceeded last year's earnings estimate of 16 million zloty.

People familiar with the situation say some of the selling may be due to a row between Polcolorit insiders that ended with the departure of its general manager Wiktor Marconi just days ago. He was forced out by his mother, Barbara Urbaniak-Marconi over differences in expansion strategy.