News Parkiet

Equity market

Year-end tax selling picks up again

Polish investors dumped millions of shares at below-market prices in a series of after-hours block trades this month in a last-ditch attempt to reduce their capital gains taxes. Records compiled by PARKIET show that some stocks changed hands at close to 40 percent below their price during regular hours. Most are expected to change hands once again in January, returning to their previous owners. The deadline for tax-loss selling expired yesterday because of the three-day settlement period.

Mutual funds

Money managers raking in cash

At least nine out of sixteen mutual fund groups in existence since January 2004 expect stronger earnings from fees and commissions despite sluggish flow of new cash under management, sources told PARKIET yesterday. Publicly available financial data for the first six months of this year show that mutual fund companies made a total of 89.4 million zloty, up 90 percent from the same period last year.

Retailing

Żabka promises transparency

Żabka convenience store operator says it will to pay special attention to transparency and corporate governance to counter accusations about the murky past of some of its founders. Poznań-based firm claims new minority shareholder, an AIG-backed fund proves the stock is a safe investment. Żabka wants to use IPO proceeds to pay for expansion of its franchise network, now 1500 strong. Its chief executive Krystian Czarnota was once charged with tax fraud, while former senior executives were accused of working for the SB, communist-era secret police.

Financial services

Eurofaktor to start trading on Thursday

Shares of Eurofaktor S.A., Poland's biggest, non-bank factoring services company will start trading on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on December 30, WSE said in a statement yesterday. Mysłowice, Silesia-based Eurofaktor raised PLN 36 million minus IPO expenses of 1.5 million zloty in an offering that closed on December 3. Eurofaktor sold two million new shares at 18 zloty each. Half the stock went to retail investors.

Automotive industry

Inter Cars sees another strong year

Warsaw auto parts distributor Inter Cars S.A., Poland's no. 1 car parts supplier, says it expects sales in excess of this year's PLN 600 million ($202 million) in 2005 despite pressure on its revenues from rising zloty. Widely held Inter Cars also says it will exceed analyst estimates of 17.6 million zloty net earnings.

Civil engineering

Polnord raises cash from asset sales

Polnord S.A. construction group has announced plans to sell several surplus properties, including a hotel in Opole, Western Poland and a ski lodge in holiday resort of Szklarska Poręba. Chief executive Andrzej Ubertowski says the company wants to focus on its core business and raise cash for expansion. Polnord, which is controlled by Gdańsk-based Prokom Investment group, an investment arm of Polish businessman Ryszard Krauze, got some of its properties after the merger with Energobudowa, another civil engineering company.

Information Technology

ComputerLand to design new website for

Polish ministry

ComputerLand S.A. IT services group along with publicly traded e-learning company Betacom S.A. have won a public contract to design EU-financed website for the Polish Ministry of the Environment. The two firms will build a website hosting documents, forms and applications for local government organizations and for the ministry itself. The contract is worth PLN 4.5 million, or 1.5 million dollars.

Taxes

Street sweepers must own cash registers, Finance Ministry says

Street sweepers, hairdressers and beauticians have to buy themselves cash registers if they want to continue their business after January 1st, Polish Finance Ministry said in a ruling published yesterday. Tighter regulations are supposed to el