News Parkiet

Engineering

Mostostal bogged down in Ursynów project

Mostostal Export construction group could pay as much as 18 million zloty in penalties because of the delays in a contract with local authorities in Warsaw. The firm has agreed to build an 18-million zloty civic arena in Ursynów district of Warsaw in early 2002. However, the project is already seven months late and because of the wording in the original contract Mostostal is supposed to pay 90.000 zloty a day until the project is actually finished. City officials admit the site wasn?t ready for months and say they might be willing to limit the penalty to PLN 1.8 million.

Accounting

Polish firms unprepared for IAS reporting

Few Polish firms listed on the Warsaw bourse are prepared for new IAS reporting rules that will be adopted next year, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported on Thursday.

Just 38 out of 102 publicly traded firms surveyed by the auditor knew about the new requirement to file their first IAS reports this year. The SEC, which is supposed to enforce IAS reporting says penalties for non compliance include fines of up to 5 million zloty and prison sentences for senior executives.

Energy

Pątnów to receive financing for key project

ZE Pątnów-Adamów-Konin power plant may receive new bank loans needed to complete construction of Pątnów II power block in late July, sources close to the situation told PARKIET on Thursday. A consortium that includes EBRD, WestLB, Pekao BPH Bank and BRE Bank has agreed to lend several hundred million euros to pay for the expansion weeks after a 224 million zloty loan by NFOŚiGW, a Polish government agency that finances environmental projects.

Construction work at Pątnów II is now set to resume in August.

Banking

Kredyt Bank sells Lithuanian unit

to Nordea

KBC group?s Kredyt Bank has agreed to sell its Lithuanian business to Nordea AG as it tries to refocus on its home market. Kredyt Bank has six branches in Lithuanian capital of Vilnius and elsewhere, serving 2700 clients. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, but Kredyt Bank said it will have ?neutral? impact on its earnings. The unit had assets of 188 million euros.

Kredyt Bank has invested about 83.5 million zloty in Lithuania over the last five years.

Information Technology

I&B System settles with Bank Przemysłowy

Publicly traded Invar & Biurosystem (I&B System) IT services provider and Łódź-based Bank Przemysłowy have settled their four-year dispute over a failed stock issue in late 2000.

I&B System went to court against Przemysłowy, which underwrote the sale of over 2 million new shares, asking 3 million zloty in damages. Bank Przemysłowy then filed its own suit against the company.

I&B System Chief Executive Henryk Kruszek says his company expects about one million zloty from Przemysłowy after the settlement.

Equity markets

Artman expected to trade higher on IPO

Shares of Kraków-based clothing retailer Artman SA are expected to open above their IPO price of 19 zloty when they start trading on the WSE today, equity analysts who follow the company say. Artman raised an estimated 23 million zloty selling 1.25 million new shares in an IPO that closed last week. The stock was more than three times oversubscribed by retail investors

Food industry

EBRD sells 10 pct. stake in Rolimpex

European Bank of Reconstruction and Development has sold almost 2 million shares of Rolimpex animal feed maker in a series of block trades during yesterday?s session on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. EBRD, which bought Rolimpex in an IPO back in 1996 received an estimated 30 million zloty from the sale. It originally paid about 40 million zloty for the stock.

Equity markets

Millennium issues ?accumulate?

rating on Redan

Dom Maklerski Millennium is advising its clients to ?aProfits slipped 38 percent because of promotional expenses and discounts to key customers. However, Millennium notes that apparel companies traditionally underperform in the first quarter and expects Redan to recover during the summer season.

Millennium, which handled Redan?s IPO last fall has a 17.4 zloty target price for Redan compared with yesterday?s closing price of 16.55 zloty.