News Parkiet

Equity markets

CeTO stocks looking for a new home

It seems no one really wants thinly traded microcaps listed on CeTO, Polish Over-the-counter market. Founded in late 1990's as an electronic trading platform for newly privatized companies and private start-ups, CeTO now lists just nineteen stocks, mainly utilities, and the average daily trading volume is rarely more than a few thousand dollars. About thirty-five stocks used to trade on CeTO at one time or another, but the number has dwindled because of bankruptcies and transfers to the big leagues, the WSE.

The market itself, co-owned by the Warsaw Stock Exchange and KDPW clearing house has since refocused on trading in government and corporate bonds and would be happy to get rid of its stock trading business.

'Obviously this market is operating at a break-even point, given its size', CeTO's deputy chief executive Piotr Wiśniewski says. 'We've already asked the WSE to consider a clear division of our products.'

However, WSE officials say they are not interested in a mass migration of CeTO stocks because of additional expenses. 'I don't see any problems if someone wants to move from CeTO to the WSE. However, as long as these companies are happy with their situation, we are not going to force them to move. It's up to them', WSE' Ryszard Czerniawski says.

CeTO companies, for the most part want to stay there because of additional listing fees on the WSE. 'Our stock was always very illiquid and the WSE won't change that, says the CEO of Wodkan SA, a water company from western Poland. Wodkan is a typical CeTO stock, with 20 million zloty market cap and a free float of just 8.7 percent. Piotr Widawski from Izolacja Jarocin, a tiny tar paper manufacturer is more outspoken commenting on possible move to the regular market. 'It's the size. Our company is just too small for that.'

Corporate governance

Ousted PŻM executive fights back

Paweł Brzezicki, top executive at the state-owned shipping company Polska Żegluga Morska is fighting back government attempts to remove him from office. Brzezicki and his allies, including PŻM workers' council, filed for an injunction to stop the ouster. Meanwhile, PŻM employees are publishing newspaper ads in major Polish dailies in support of their boss.

Equity markets

Polcolorit to file for IPO

Polcolorit SA, Poland's fifth largest manufacturer of ceramic tiles, has filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchanges Commission, sources at the company said yesterday. Based near Jelenia Góra in south-western Poland, Polkolorit wants to sell up to 150 million zloty worth of stock, including part of the 96 percent stake now held by its main shareholder, Barbara Urbaniak-Marconi. Actual IPO proceeds from the sale of new stock will be used to build a new production plant, doubling the firm's output of ceramic tiles to approximately 10 million square meters annually. 'This entire project will be spread over a period of four years and will cost about 100 million zloty', Paweł Puterko from Profes, an investment advisor that will help in the IPO says.

Last year Polcolorit reported net earnings of 9.6 million zloty on sales of approximately 77 million.

Power industry

ZREW hits new all-time high

Shares of Zakłady Remontowe Energetyki Warszawa rose to an all-time high yesterday in anticipation of a new contract with EC Żerań, Warsaw's main heat generating plant. Closely held stock rose 6.6 percent to 89 zloty. ZREW traded as low as 40 zloty at the end of last year.

ZREW is expected to announce its stake in a 170 million zloty contract to build a new generating facility at EC Żerań. The company won Żerań contract, its largest ever, together with its parent Polimex-Cekop engineering group and a Czech firm called Demag Delaval last month. Days later ZREW reported six-month earnings of PLN 4 million, a threefold increase from the same period a

Civil aviation

Katowice to open new airport terminal

Katowice-Pyrzowice regional airport is scheduled to open a new passenger terminal, more than doubling its existing capacity. The airport, which is managed by Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze, a private airport operator, processed almost 170.000 passengers last year. The airport serving southern Polish Silesia region now has the capacity to handle up to 0.7 million passengers each year.

Pyrzowice's new terminal cost GTL an estimated 20 million zloty.

Competing Balice airport in nearby city of Kraków has already asked for bids to expand the facility's annual passenger handling capacity from 1.2 to 2 million.