News Parkiet

Equity markets

Budapest, Vienna exchanges may bid for WSE

The bourses in Vienna and Budapest may bid for the Polish government's stake in the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Hungarian bourse officials reported yesterday. Budapest stock exchange chairman Atilla Szalay-Bereviczy and the WSE president Wiesław Rozłucki talked about closer ties recently, although no specific decisions were made, the Hungarians said.

Polish Treasury Ministry is in the process of selecting an adviser to sell its controlling stake in the WSE.

Petrochemicals

Parliament to investigate ouster of former Orlen CEO

Polish parliament has set up a special commission to investigate February 2002 police detention of PKN Orlen chief executive Andrzej Modrzejewski, just days before he was fired as the head of the country's largest oil refinery. Polish secret police has interrogated Mr. Modrzejewski for several hours over his alleged role in insider trading case back in 1999. Local media reported earlier this year, citing former privatization minister Wiesław Kaczmarek that Polish PM Leszek Miller used the allegations to force out Modrzejewski to prevent the signing of a large oil supply contract with the Russians.

His successor, existing CEO Zbigniew Wróbel is widely expected to leave Orlen within weeks because of conflict of interest allegations.

Polish government retains a 27 percent stake in PKN Orlen.

Pharmaceuticals

PGF, Farmacol rated 'outperform' by Dom Maklerski BZ WBK

Dom Maklerski BZ WBK brokerage has issued a new report on leading Polish drug distributors, giving 'outperform' ratings to Polska Grupa Farmaceutyczna (PGF) and Farmacol. DM BZ WBK's Marcin Jabłczyński, who covers the industry has raised its target price for PGF, Poland's largest drug-store supplier to 64 zloty from 59 zloty in a research report last March. Jabłczyński expects PGF to generate net earnings of some 50 million zloty this year, excluding its latest acquisition, Apteki Polskie drugstore chain. Target price for the slightly smaller Farmacol, which has about 18 percent of the local market stayed at 33 zloty per share. That compares with yesterday's closing price of 28.8 zloty. Shares of PGF, which has just doubled its dividends to 2 zloty per share, were unchanged at 61.

Telecommunications

SM-Media down after listing on WSE

Shares of VoIP phone company SM-Media fell 6.2 percent from their last closing price on the OTC market to 64.7 zloty on their first day of trading on the Warsaw bourse on Monday. The carrier sold 100.000 shares priced at 75 zloty each in late April, raising an estimated 7.25 million zloty after IPO expenses.

Proceeds from this year's thirteenth IPO will be used to buy telecommunications hardware and to launch prepaid phone card services, SM-Media said in its filing documents.

SM-Media's stock was listed on CeTO over-the-counter market until last Friday.

Separately BDM PKO BP, which helped manage SM-Media's stock sale said it expects to do six more IPO's this year.

Privatization funds

Foksal to exit Dwory investment through WSE listing

NFI Foksal privatization fund has announced to list its largest holding, Firma Chemiczna Dwory rubber-maker on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, driving up its stock price. Shares of NFI Foksal, one of fourteen closed-end privatization funds listed on the WSE rose 4.4 percent to close at 7.1 zloty in heavy trading Monday.

Foksal and other shareholders of Firma Chemiczna Dwory will decide on the IPO at the company's meeting on August 11, the fund said. Foksal, which has approximately 45 percent of Firma Chemiczna Dwory, wrote down its investment to just 92 million zloty from the initial PLN 157 million.

Dwory, which makes latex and rubber products had 1Q earnings of 20 million zloty ($5.4) on sales of PLN 250 million. Its chief executive, Zdzisław Ingielewicz, has approximately 20 percent o

Chemicals

Elana ups earnings forecast

Elana plastic-bottle plant, a key part of the publicly traded Boryszew chemicals conglomerate has decided to raise this year's earnings projection from 27 to 36 million zloty after initial results in the first five months to May. Revenue is set to grow 40 percent, to 874 million zloty from last year's PLN 672 million.