News Parkiet

Executive compensation

Softbank takes a hit after big severance payment

Softbank SA, one of Poland's largest providers of IT services for the banking industry, reported a 4.8 million zloty second-quarter loss because of severance payments to former managers. Warsaw-based firm has doubled the severance package of Jarosław Ogorzałek, ex-deputy CEO, to as much as 4.2 million zloty. It also paid an additional PLN 2.3 million to nine other senior executives who were laid off as part of cost-cutting program.

The Internet

Google gains 18 pct. on IPO

Shares of no. 1 search engine gained more than 18 percent, opening at 100.01 dollars yesterday on the Nasdaq. The company sold its stock to the public at $85, the low end of its reduced initial pricing range.

Information Technology

Enion to spend millions on new IT systems

Enion SA, a regional energy holding from southern Poland, plans to spend several million zloty on a new data warehouse this year. The group, which has 16 percent of the Polish market and some 2.3 million customers, says it will ask for bids for Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship Management systems in 2005.

Information Technology

Ster-Projekt hires subcontractors for TP data

center

Ster-Projekt SA, a mid-sized IT services firm listed on the Warsaw bourse, said it has awarded a 20.6 million zloty contract to Marwokat, a construction company, to build part of new data center for Telekomunikacja Polska, Poland's national phone company. Completion of the 70.6 million zloty data center is scheduled for the end of June 2005 at the latest.

Food industry

Graal to file for IPO soon

Graal SA canned fish maker is putting finishing touches on its IPO prospectus and will file for an Initial Public Offering on the Warsaw bourse by the end of this month, senior company official told PARKIET yesterday. 'We really want to go public as soon as possible. Right now we are making final revisions of our IPO draft prospectus', Robert Wijata, chief operating officer said.

IPO proceeds would be used for acquisitions and expansion, including a joint-venture with an unnamed company from Spain, sources at the company said.

Graal's main competitor, Wilbo SA, is already listed on the WSE. Graal itself has approximately 28 percent of the Polish market.

Equity markets

ŁDA Invest waiting for bankruptcy verdict

ŁDA Invest, a diversified manufacturing holding is waiting for the coup de grace of the bankruptcy court. Warsaw-based company has lost liquidity months ago, has no staff and generates only nominal revenue of less than 20.000 zloty renting out its properties. Despite its public status, ŁDA, which started out as a printing plant in Łódź, expanding into utilities and manufacturing later on, was late filing some of its annual and quarterly reports because it couldn't afford an auditor. Its shares are still trading on the WSE. Based on yesterday's close, ŁDA Invest has market value of one million zloty.

Food industry

Atlanta postpones IPO

Atlanta Poland bulk food wholesaler has postponed its plans for an IPO on the Warsaw Stock Exchange because of the number of IPO candidates waiting for SEC authorization. It said earlier it may go public sometime this summer to raise money for working capital and a new production line.

'Our prospectus will be filed by the end of this month', Atlanta's CEO Dariusz Mazur says. Atlanta Poland is a joint venture of Greek and Polish businessmen, including Mr. Mazur himself.

Insurance

TU Europa jumps 124 percent

Shares of Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeniowe Europa, a small loan insurer listed on the WSE, rose 124 percent to an all-time high of 57.9 zloty yesterday despite apparent lack of news that would justify sudden interest in the thinly traded company. TU Europa has almost 7.9 million shares outstanding, but its free float is a mere 0.14 percent of the total. Europa's founder Leszek Czarnecki has raised his stake to over 99.8 percent after making a bid for the company. In early July Czarnecki, who also controls Getin Holding, a 710 million zloty financial group, bought an additional 6200 shares of TU Europa at 15.96 zloty.

Mr. Czarnecki wasn't available for comment on yesterday's trading action.