News Parkiet

Equity markets

Investors ask for SEC help in futures trading scheme

The Association of Retail Investors has asked Polish Securities and Exchanges Commission for assistance in a court case against BDM PKO BP stockbroker over February 4 scheme to manipulate prices of WIG20 index futures. At least 80 individual investors wanted to file class-action suit over the loss of PLN 0.63 million, but some now say they don?t have the money for lawyers? and court fees.

Home appliances

Amica to cut debt after stock resale

Amica SA stove-maker will receive as much as 22.5 million zloty after the sale of treasury stock by Cyprus-based subsidiary, company officials told PARKIET yesterday. The company, which has a third of the Polish market, sold 600.000 shares held by Sidegrove Holdings to a group of financial investors last month, raising an estimated 24 million zloty. Amica?s CFO Dariusz Szczypiński says his firm will use the money to pay down its 220 million zloty debt.

Steel industry

Złomrex plans acquisitions using IPO proceeds

Złomrex S.A. steel trader has canceled planned bond issue in favor of an IPO on the Warsaw bourse. Częstochowa-based company wants to raise ?several hundred million zloty? to pay for takeovers of steel manufacturers, including possible acquisition of Walcownia Rur Jedność, a large pipe-making plant. State-owned WR Jedność needs another 200 million zloty to complete 800-million zloty production plant and is looking for a buyer. Złomrex founder and CEO Przemysław Sztuczkowski says it?s too early to discuss the issue.

Złomrex group bought two other steel plants, Ferrostal Łabędy and Odlewnia Metali Szopienice earlier this year. Just last week it won a 25 million zloty cash bid for Huta "Andrzej? steel plant in southern Poland. Złomrex says even excluding future acquisitions, this year?s sales will rise to more than 2 billion zloty ($550 million).

Civil engineering

Budimex Dromex to merge with another

subsidiary

Poland?s biggest road-building firm, Budimex-Dromex is working on a merger with a wholly-owned subsidiary called Dromex-Cieszyn, chief executive Stefan Bekir Assanowicz told PARKIET yesterday.

The merger will add up to 30 million zloty to Budimex-Dromex? annual revenue of PLN 1.5 billion.

Budimex-Dromex, which is controlled by Spain?s Acciona group, has no plans to buy Katowice-based PRInż, southern Poland?s biggest road construction company. ?We already have a strong position in Southern Poland and in Silesia?, Assanowicz said.

Telecommunications

Szeptel raises CAPEX

Przedsiębiorstwo Telekomunikacyjne Szeptel, a small, fixed-line carrier from eastern Poland, spent much of its cash flow generated in the first six months of this year on new telecommunications gear. Szeptel, which has less than 20.000 subscribers, paid over 1.2 million zloty for new billing software and broadband Internet-related equipment. It also spent over 400.000 zloty to upgrade existing PABX exchanges.

Szeptel reported six-month earnings of just 2.7 million zloty on sales of PLN 12 million.

Equity markets

Swissmed sees profits in private medicine

Private medicine can be profitable, says Roman Walasiński, chief executive of Swissmed SA, Poland?s first private hospital operator planning an IPO on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Walasiński, a lawyer by training, says Swissmed?s first hospital in Gdańsk has already treated over 30.000 patients, performing over 500 surgeries since late March, when it opened its first operating room.

Next year, Walasiński says, Swissmed will report its first ever profits. For now, the company is focusing on growing sales. Revenue in the six months to June accounted for three-quarters of last year?s total sales, Walasiński told PARKIET.

Information Technology

ComArch 2004 sales to rise on stronger domestic demand, export sales

ComArch SA, a Polish software house, said its revenue could rise as much as 17 percent to well over 300 million zloty this year as the domestic economy accelerates along with international sales. Six-month sales at the Cracow-based company rose 52 percent to 135 million zloty. Export sales of billing software and financial services software more than tripled to PLN 36 million, chief executive Janusz Filipiak said. Net earnings totaled PLN 5.4 million.