News Parkiet

Telecommunications

PTC accounts frozen

Warsaw district attorney has appealed a ruling that was used by Elektrim and Deutsche Telekom to appoint new board of Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa, Central Europe?s biggest mobile phone company, sources told PARKIET yesterday. One legal expert says the appeal makes Elektrim and DT?s subsequent actions. Ewa Bojar, a spokeswoman for the Warsaw-based conglomerate claims the ruling was effective despite Vivendi?s challenge.

Meanwhile, sources close to the situation said on Friday Polish banks have frozen PTC?s bank accounts. ?This move complicates our situation. It?s not that PTC suffers real hardships, but we don?t have that security?, Bogusław Kułakowski, one of two competing chief executives of the company said.

Separately, Vivendi has filed a complaint with the Polish government demanding protection of its 2 billion euro investment based on international treaty between France and Poland. It said it would bring the case to an international tribunal at the UN if the dispute is not resolved six months from now.

Banking

Handlowy to raise dividend

Citigroup?s Bank Handlowy reported a 40 percent increase in profits to PLN 416 million, or 3.18 zloty a share yesterday. The bank has more than enough cash and could pay all of last year?s earnings as dividends, chief executive Sławomir Sikora said.

Its loan portfolio fell to 9.7 billion zloty ($3.2 billion) from PLN 13.2 billion at the end of December 2003.

Information Technology

ComputerLand drops

after disappointing fourth-quarter

Shares of ComputerLand SA, Poland?s no. 2 IT services group, fell 3.1 percent to close at 124 zloty yesterday after the company reported lower than expected fourth quarter earnings because of a one time charge after it bought back 30 million zloty worth of convertible bonds. Warsaw-based ComputerLand said its fourth-quarter earnings totaled just 2.3 million zloty. Full year earnings rose 60 percent to PLN 13.7 million compared with analyst average of around 20 million zloty.

Group sales were up 27 percent to an all-time high of 739 million zloty, a third of that from banks and financial industry customers.

The company said it expects to spend about 60 million zloty ($20 million) on acquisitions of smaller IT firms. Potential targets include computer companies in Russia in Ukraine.

Publishing

Poligrafia sale closer, CEO says

Several unnamed investors may bid for the controlling stake in publicly traded printer Poligrafia SA, chief executive Jacek Kobyliński said at a meeting yesterday. Kielce-based firm is controlled by ING?s The Baring CEF Investments private equity fund.