News Parkiet

Equity markets

PARKIET gives ?Bulls & Bears?

awards to top Polish companies

Polish stock market daily Gazeta Giełdy PARKIET gave its annual Bulls and Bears awards yesterday, recognizing the achievements of top Polish equity analysts and the best companies listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Grzegorz Stulgis from Investor Relations Partners M&A firm received ?Bulls & Bears? statuette as the best equity analyst in 2003. The award for best managed company went to Stalprofil S.A, a steel trading firm from Silesia. Stalprofil has nearly doubled its sales last year to 850 million zloty. Earnings have more than tripled to PLN 30 million.

Orbis hotel chain won the award for the highest corporate governance standards, while Boryszew chemicals holding received PARKIET award for the highest rate of return. Its stock went up almost 700 percent, from 7.45 to 73 zloty last year. Goodyear subsidiary Dębica won as the best blue-chip stock from WIG20 index.

The first international company to list in Warsaw, Bank Austria Creditanstaldt was judged the best IPO of the year. OFE Polsat and DWS TFI won the awards in their respective categories as the best pension and mutual funds.

Economy Minister Jerzy Hausner was recognized as top economist of the year for his plans to reform Poland?s public finances.

Equity markets

Poland starts taxing M&A gains

Polish Finance Ministry said long-term shareholders, who receive newly issued shares as a result of stock-swaps will lose capital gains tax exemption on any future stock market gains. The issue came up during talks on possible merger between Ster-Projekt computer services company and Telmax software house.

Poland started collecting 19 percent capital gains tax in January after parliament refused to extend capital gains tax exemption for retail investors. Polish residents who bought stock before January 1 deadline received permanent tax break on their holdings.

Chemicals

Boryszew raises bid for Oława

Boryszew S.A. anti-freeze maker has announced yet another bid for the 12.6 percent stake in publicly traded Oława it doesn?t already own. It is offering PLN 35 per share compared with latest closing price of 62 zloty.

Oława?s minority shareholders and the Polish Association of Individual Investors have rejected Boryszew?s three previous bids as ?too low?, going to court to block an attempt to delist the company.

Oława makes specialty chemicals used by automotive and glass-making industry.

Public finances

Government auditor slams highway

construction program

Government auditor Naczelna Izba Kontroli (NIK) has asked district attorney?s office in Warsaw to launch formal investigation into financial irregularities at GDDKiA, state agency responsible for highway construction program. NIK auditors found dubious procurement practices, misspent funds and improprieties in the selection of outside contractors. Financial irregularities between the year 2000 and early 2003 have cost the agency almost 16 million zloty ($4.3 million).

Pharmaceuticals

Hurtap considering IPO

Łęczyce-based Hurtap drug distributor says it is considering an IPO. Founded by a group of drug store owners from central Poland, Hurtap went national after merging with Lekoland Tychy, a large regional wholesaler of medical products from southern Poland. ?We are not going to have an IPO this year, but we?ll be looking at that option once we decide on future growth strategy for our company?, CEO Wiktor Napióra says.

Hurtap, which has 4.5 percent market share would joint four other top drug distributors already listed on the WSE.

Banking

BRE could pay 100 million zloty for Rheinhyp, analysts say

BRE Bank could end up paying as much as 100 million zloty ($27 million) for the 50 percent stake in Rheinhyp-BRE mortgage bank it doesn?t already own, banking analysts Industry watchers say BRE, which has tier one equity of just 8.9 percent won?t be able to finance the transaction on its own and expect Commerzbank subsidiary to sell new stock to pay for Rheinhyp-BRE.

Rheinhyp-BRE has mortgage loan portfolio of 1.5 billion zloty.