News Parkiet

Equity market

Public companies run by big investors

and government, survey shows

Trade buyers and other institutional investors, many of them from the West, as well as wealthy private individuals, control over a third of the stock in publicly traded Polish corporations totaling some 75 billion zloty by market value, a survey conducted by PARKIET showed. The government along with its agencies owned about one-sixth of stock equity listed on the WSE last year. Free float totaled PLN 72 billion, or some 23 billion US dollars.

Information technology

Major IT firms to bid for border police project

All major Polish IT companies are expected to make their bids for a 52.2 million euro contract to build electronic monitoring system for the country's border police. The first public bid for new border monitoring system, to be called SENG was canceled in October because of formal irregularities. Back then, bidders included Prokom and ComputerLand, no. 1 and 2 on the market respectively, together with international partners, as well as smaller local IT groups. The winner will be selected in the second half of 2004.

Petrochemicals

Unipetrol shareholders to fight delisting

Minority shareholders of Unipetrol say they are forming an association that would oppose any plans to delist Czech oil company after the takeover by Poland's PKN Orlen. The group, which owns some 7.4 percent of Unipetrol, wants PKN to announce its plans with respect to Prague-based firm. In April 2004 PKN Orlen has agreed to buy 63 percent of Unipetrol from the Czech government for an estimated 1.78 billion zloty ($572 million), but the deal is being delayed by regulatory approvals and other paperwork. Meanwhile, shares of Unipetrol have doubled because of stronger earnings and takeover prospects.

Pension funds

OFEs earned 7 billion zloty last year

OFE private pension funds made over 7 billion zloty ($2.25 billion) in profits for their investors last year, government watchdog KNUiFE said on Friday. OFE Commercial Union, part of UK's a Aviva group, accounted for more than a quarter of these earnings. Assets under management by 15 OFE funds increased by 17.8 billion zloty to PLN 62.6 billion thanks to steady inflow of new money from their eleven million members.

Food industry

Brok-Strzelec to sell local brewery

Brok-Strzelec regional brewery is planning to ask for shareholders' approval to sell one of its two local units, raising cash to keep the company on the market. 'We have virtually no bank loans right now, but we need working capital for this year to keep growing, that's why we have to sell something', chief executive Adam Brodowski said.

Mr. Brodowski together with his wife owns 26 percent of Brok-Strzelec voting stock. Jędrzejów brewery from southern Poland, a regional operation with the capacity of 350.000 hectoliters is the most likely candidate for sale. Brok-Strzelec' other brewery, called Brok, has an annual output of 650.000 hectoliters giving the company 2.5 to 3 percent share of the Polish market.

Retailing

Maks Sport to file for IPO

Sporting goods chain Maks Sport from Kraków plans to file for IPO by the end of next month, chief executive Artur Mikołajko told PARKIET on Friday. 'We're just adding final touches to our IPO prospectus. We are going to file for IPO by the end of February and we plan to list our stock in May', he said. Maks Sport plans to raise between 20 and 30 million zloty to finance national expansion, opening up to twelve new retail outlets. The IPO will be managed by Biuro Maklerskie Penetrator. Maks Sport posted net earnings of 1.7 million zloty last year. Sales totaled around 60 million zloty.

Retailing

CCC under water despite prospectsShares of CCC shoe-manufacturer are still trading below their offering price despite meeting 'aggressive' earnings forecast. The company sold eight million new and existing shares at 9.5 zloty each in an IPO in November and begun trading at 9.95 zloty in early December. Since then, CCC's only major announcement, a mid-December news release, said the company has virtually achieved its earnings guidance. CCC said on December 17 its earnings in the eleven months of 2004 totaled 22.8 million zloty, or 99 percent of the target. Sales rose to PLN 251.6 million, which is about 93 percent of its initial forecast.