News Parkiet

Equity market

Poland presents new WSE growth strategy

Polish Finance Ministry has finally published its long-term equity market growth strategy yesterday. The proposal, called ?Agenda Warsaw City 2010? calls for the floatation of the Warsaw Stock Exchange and an alliance with as yet-unnamed international exchange to create the strongest regional bourse in Central Europe.

Finance Ministry?s Igor Chalupec also said Poland has to privatize its national stock exchange, increasing its market capitalization at least by half until 2010. Total capitalization of all companies trading on the Warsaw bourse, some 166 billion zloty at the end of December 2003, accounts for approximately 20 percent of the country?s GDP.

Privatization sales on the WSE could increase its market capitalization by 50 billion zloty, Finance Ministry officials said yesterday.

Engineering

Elkop files for bankruptcy

Publicly traded Elkop engineering and industrial services group announced it has filed for bankruptcy on December 29 of last year seeking protection from creditors after the failure of its turnaround strategy.

Elkop, a local company from southern Poland privatized in late 1990?s has been losing money ever since its IPO on the Warsaw bourse in early 2001. Its stock previously traded on CeTO over the counter market.

Elkop?s fortunes suffered along with those of the Polish coal mining industry. In its third-quarter report Chorzów-based company said it probably won?t be able to collect all payments from mining customers, some of whom engaged in barter trade and paid using coal instead of cash.

Elkop?s main shareholders include the Polish government, which retains 25 percent stake and KBC group?s Kredyt Bank, which took over 20 percent of the company from a group of Silesian businessmen after they failed to pay back their loans.

On Wednesday, Elkop?s thinly traded stock unexpectedly rose 14.3 percent despite news of the possible bankruptcy. Its market cap at the end of the day stood at 2.9 million zloty, or less than one million US dollars.

Food processing

Agros Nova sets out to capture no.1

market position

Agros Nova, a new company founded after the merger of Agros Fortuna and Sonda says it wants to become no. 1 juice-maker on the Polish market in just three years. The firm, controlled by US Enterprise Investors private equity group may be listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2006.

?We?ll launch new product categories that our consumers have never seen before. We are hoping our market share will rise from 20 to 26 percent this year. We can be the market leader in three to four years?, CEO Robert Niewiadomski said during yesterday?s press conference.

Its main competitor, privately held Maspex group has about 35 percent of the rapidly-growing market.

Best known for popular fruit juice brands Fortuna and Fortuna Karotka, Agros Nova has just completed an extensive restructuring program. It has closed down three of its six plants while reducing product portfolio from 260 to 146 products. Agros has also laid off over a quarter of its workforce, now 1500 strong.

Sales of the new company fell 9 percent to 575 million zloty last year, but the company remained profitable.

Enterprise Investors has 56 percent of Agros Nova.

Power industry

PSEG subsidiary completes key Polish project

Polish subsidiary of the US PSEG Corporation has completed the construction of a 335 million-dollar Elcho, a large combined heat and power generating plant located in southern Poland. Build by Foster Wheeler, the new plant will supply heating to Katowice, the capital of Upper Silesia region.

Coal-fired Elcho power plant has a total output of 204 megawatt (electric) and 500 megawatt (thermal).

Information Technology

Comp sees faster revenue growth this yearWarsaw-based Comp S.A., an IT security solutions provider says its sales may well rise to over 100 million zloty this year, up 30 percent from 2003. Net earnings of the privately held firm may reach 9 million zloty, CEO Jacek Papaj told PARKIET yesterday.