News Parkiet

New media

Interia?s CEO may be fired over growth

strategy

Interia.pl, Poland?s third most popular web directory, may lose its CEO soon because of disagreements over future growth strategy with a key shareholder. Janusz Filipiak, chief executive of Interia?s co-founder, ComArch software house, said he wants to dismiss Tomek Jażdżyński. Mr. Filipiak, a university professor, blamed Jażdżyński for slow organic growth. He also criticized Interia?s ?expensive? acquisition strategy. Cracow-based firm was working on several takeovers using the proceeds of a secondary offering planned later this year. Instead, Filipiak says, Interia.pl should once again look at the plan to sell broadband-related services.

Interia said earlier it would try to sell up to 3 million new shares. The offering will be cut to just 1 million shares, worth approximately 10 million zloty, Filipiak said. His software company, ComArch, has a 49 percent voting stake in Interia. RMF FM pop radio station has most of the remaining voting rights.

Petrochemicals

Rafineria Glimar on the verge of bankruptcy

Rafineria Glimar from southern Poland, one of three smaller refineries controlled by the Polish government through Nafta Polska privatization agency may be forced to declare bankruptcy unless it finds money for expansion. ?I cannot either confirm or deny these rumors?, Glimar?s chief executive Bogdan Janicki told PARKIET yesterday.

Rafineria Glimar has already spent most of the 124 million euros needed to complete new facility that makes specialty oil-based products, but sources at Nafta Polska say it now needs well over 30 million zloty to complete the project. However, Glimar?s finances are in such a bad shape, it can?t raise the money on its own and EU regulations restrict public assistance from the government. Last year Glimar received 60 million zloty in subsidies from Nafta Polska and from other public sources. Now Glimar, which received 60 million zloty from Nafta Polska and from the Polish government last year, may be cut off public assistance because of EU regulations.

Polish authorities said recently they want to get rid of the problem by transferring Glimar to Grupa Lotos, Poland?s second largest petrochemicals group, but the move could hurt Grupa Lotos? IPO prospects.

Glimar, the largest employer in that part of Małopolska, reported a loss of 31 million zloty last year. Its sales plunged 26 percent to just 0.48 billion zloty, or 126 million dollars.

Venture capital

MCI plans to raise PLN 29 million in

a junk bond sale

MCI Management, Poland?s sole publicly traded technology venture capital fund launched its 29-million zloty junk bond offering yesterday, part of a plan to buy assets of the country?s second largest Internet directory, Wirtualna Polska. Wrocław-based fund plans to sell 5000 convertible bonds at 6000 zloty each. Their yield will be linked to WIBOR market rates, now at around 7.4 percent, plus 3.5 percent as an additional risk premium.

Some of the proceeds may also be used to consolidate the emerging market for value-added mobile services and the creation of a technological park?, MCI said in a pre-IPO filing.

Building materials

Cement sales rising after post-EU slump

Cement sales in Poland rose 4.8 percent in August for the first time since VAT tax hike after the country joined the European Union, the Association of Cement and Lime Manufacturers said yesterday. Total cement sales in January to September rose 11 percent to 7.71 million tons, Andrzej Tekiel, the Association?s chief executive said. Annual cement sales per capita, at less than 290 kilograms, are still well below old EU?s level of 500 kilograms per person, Tekiel said.

Retailing

Redan may cut earnings forecast because

of bad weather

Redan SA, a mid-sized clothing company from Łódź, says it will wait a few more days before deciding whether to revise its earnings forecast for the year because of poor summer weather and earlier than usual discounted sales of its products.

?Sales of fall apparel have just begun and it?s picking up. The weather?s not all that great, but we?ll see what happens?, CFO Bogusz Kruszyński told PARKIET yesterday. Redan initially said it is planning net profits of some 20 million zloty on PLN 220 million in sales.

In August Redan, which sells mainly youth-oriented clothing under Top Secret and Adesso brands, reported six-month earnings of 5.3 million zloty on sales of PLN 102.1 million.