Summary of economic news released by SITA on Wednesday, June 28
Industrial Producer Prices in Slovakia Up 0.9 Pct. y/y in May
Industrial producer prices in Slovakia in May increased by 6.6 percent y/y. According to the Slovak Statistics Office, on a monthly basis industrial producer prices in May increased by 0.9 percent from April. In May, prices of products of industrial producers for the local market increased by 0.8 percent in a month. Prices of mineral raw materials rose 1.6 percent when prices of electricity, gas, steam, and heated water went up 0.6 percent. Prices of products of industrial manufacturing rose 1 percent.
Economic Sentiment Indicator Hits its High in June
The economic sentiment indicator (ESI) in Slovakia continued its upward trend from the previous three months and in June its reached its maximum since January 1997 when it was calculated for the first time. Due to improved performance of all entering items except industry the indicator rose by 1.2 percentage points to 119.3 points from May. The economic sentiment indicator was 5.2 percentage points higher in a year-on-year comparison and exceeded the long-term average by 13.9 points, announced the Slovak Statistics Office on Wednesday.
Asseco Slovakia Wants to Go Public on Warsaw Exchange
Software firm Asseco Slovakia aims to be the first Slovak company directly quoted on a foreign exchange. The company announced its interest on Wednesday to be admitted for trading on the Warsaw stock exchange, owing to its majority owner being a Polish company. The Polish partner’s positive experience and the higher liquidity of the exchange also played a role in the selection said the company’s Jana Hejjova.
HESO Project Gives Thumbs Up to ERM II Entry, Info Law and Budget
The Rating of Economic and Social Measures (HESO) project suggests that the best social-economic measures taken in the last quarter of 2005 were the Slovak currency joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism ERM-II, the amendment to information legislation and next year’s state budget. On the other hand experts negatively viewed amendments to healthcare legislation and a hike in regulated energy and water prices for households beginning on January 1. The Q4 2005 rating achieved 54 points while in the third quarter of last year it was 46.5 points, stated program coordinator Dusan Zachar from the Central European Institute for Economic and Social Reforms (INEKO).
Health Insurers Sideria and Dovera to Merge Next Year
Health insurance companies Sideria and Dovera will merge into a single company operating under the name Dovera next year, director of both companies Patrik Mozola told a news conference on Wednesday. The newly established insurer will control 14 to 15 percent of the respective market and its ambition is to gradually increase its market share to 30 percent. “We expect a massive transfers of policyholders among health insurance companies this year, amounting to hundreds of thousands,” said Mr. Mozola in explaining this step.
Cabinet Approves Unbundling of SSE Power Distributor
The cabinet at its Wednesday’s meeting approved the unbundling of trade and distribution activity in the regional power distributor in central Slovakia, Stredoslovenska Energetika, a.s. (SSE). Unbundling should be completed by January 1, 2007. “The Regulatory Office for Network Industries (URSO) will have a possibility to significantly intervene in determining which assets will be recognized in companies’ eligible costs when setting regulated electricity prices,” said Economy Minister Jirko Malcharek following the cabinet meeting. According to Mr. Malcharek, approval of SSE’s unbundling proposal will create a good precedent for further negotiations on unbundling with another regional power distributors, Zapadoslovenska Energetika, a.s. and Vychodoslovenska Energetika, a.s. Unbundling of these firms should be completed by July 1, 2007.
Zilinska Teplarenska Reports SKK 616.5 Mln. Sales for Last Year
Central heating plant serving the town of Zilina, Zilinska Teplarenska, a.s. reported sales of its own products and services at SKK 616.5 million last year. This is a decrease of almost 3 percent compared with 2004. Production costs stood at SKK 350.3 million: down 6.7 percent y/y. The firm generated added value of SKK 274.4 million, which is SKK 14 million more than in 2004, board of directors’ chairman Igor Gubala informed SITA.
TatraCredit Posted SKK 66.3 Mln. Taxed Profit Last Year
TatraCredit a.s. whose legal successor became VUB bank’s affiliation Consumer Finance Holding, a.s. (CFH) on January 1 and which deals with catalogue sales through the Triangel catalogue, posted revenues for goods sold at SKK 745.8 million last year. Cost of sales represented SKK 673.8 million and the company’s gross margin was SKK 72 million, reads data disclosed by the company.
Car Rental Firm Tatra-Impex Posted SKK 241.4 Mln. Sales Last Year
Car rental firm Tatra-Impex, s.r.o. Liptovsky Mikulas registered sales of SKK 241.4 million last year, down by nearly 15 percent y/y. Cost of sales reached SKK 236.3 million in 2005 meaning a y/y drop by 15.5 percent. The trade margin represented SKK 5.1 million. The firm closed last year with a taxed profit of SKK 49,000, while the company achieved a taxed profit of SKK 170,000 in 2004.
MONEY MARKET: Liquidity Deficit Hampers Trading on Wednesday
A deep liquidity deficit still hampers trading on the interbank market. UniBanka dealer Jozef Hempfinger stated that even the settlement of repo tenders in the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) on Wednesday didn’t improve the situation much, when the maturing SKK 113.395 billion returned to the market and SKK 101.094 billion from repo deals on Tuesday left in the other direction. As the end of the month is approaching banks must use refinancing in the central bank, commented the dealer. Banks borrowed together SKK 32.635 billion on a one-day basis in the NBS on Wednesday and thus deposited SKK 43.499 billion in their reserve accounts in the NBS, meeting the minimum requirement for June on a cumulative base at 97.09 percent.
STOCK MARKET: BCPB Weakens Moderately Midweek
The Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) moderately weakened midweek. The official SAX share index lost 1.83 points or 0.48 percent to 377.94 points due to shares of Slovak crude oil refiner Slovnaft on Wednesday. Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) improved from SKK 79.8 million on Tuesday to SKK 136.2 million on Wednesday with just SKK 1.03 million in share trading.
WiMax Telecom Slovakia Provides Access Internet in Forty Towns
WiMax Telecom Slovakia, s.r.o. provides wireless internet access to residential customers in around forty towns across Slovakia. “We started operating our network on the basis of a license to operate a fixed wireless access network (FWA) in the 3.5 GHz band at the end of November last year. We focus on family houses in town suburbs where internet access is limited,” said WiMax Telecom Slovakia director Juraj Kocisko on Wednesday. The product is able to compete with other products in these areas,” he said. WiMax Telecom Slovakia invested around EUR 3.5 million into building its network. The company currently has over 1,600 customers. During the next two weeks their number should increase to 2,000. The company should have over 6,000 customers by the end of this year.
Poistovna Union Insurer Reports Q1 Pre-Tax Profit of SKK 16.5 Mln.
Universal insurance company Poistovna Union a.s. reached a preliminary pre-tax profit of SKK 16.5 million during the first quarter of 2006. Compared to Q1 2005 this means an increase by 11.1 percent. Representatives of the company further informed SITA that gross written premiums amounted to SKK 232.4 million, up from SKK 204.8 million reported during the first three months of 2005. Of this the non-life insurance segment accounted for SKK 146.9 million and thus made up a 63.2 percent share of aggregate written premiums. Commercial output, reflecting the number of new policies, reached SKK 101.3 million in the first quarter, up 11.2 percent y/y. Of this non-life insurance made up SKK 82.6 million and life insurance SKK 18.8 million. Commercial output in non-life insurance rose 15.8 percent y/y, but life insurance reported a 4.8 percent drop.
Shareholders Agree to Retain Most of SES Tlmace Profit from 2005
Power engineering company Slovenske Energeticke Strojarne, a.s. (SES) Tlmace will retain more than SKK 6.7 million of its last year's profit of SKK 7.5 million. The company will allocate ten percent of its taxed profit, i.e. more than SKK 748,000, into the reserve fund. SES Tlmace shareholders decided on the distribution of the profit at an annual general meeting on June 27.
FOREX MARKET: Crown Fluctuates in Twenty-Haller Band Midweek
Trading in the Slovak crown against its referential currency the euro was relatively calm on Wednesday, while few deals were made on the market and players awaited further information concerning the political situation in Slovakia. The crown opened at 38.220/38.240 SKK/EUR and the local currency reached its strongest point of the day at 38.130/38.160 SKK/EUR. “However in the afternoon the Christian-Democratic Movement (KDH) announced its willingness to join the ruling coalition with election winner SMER-Social Democracy (SMER-SD) and the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK). The crown thus jumped over the 38.200 SKK/EUR limit and climbed up to 38.280/38.320 SKK/EUR,” commented Tatra Banka dealer Bibiana Valachova on Wednesday’s trading. The situation stabilized before the close of trading when the exchange rate of the Slovak crown stood at 38.190/38.210 SKK/EUR.
Roonamid a.s. Zilina Closed Last Year in the Black
Zilina based chemical company Roonamid, a.s., which produces and sells polymers and processes synthetic materials, reported sales of own products and services at SKK 110.9 million in 2005, which is up by one-quarter y/y. Production costs reached SKK 94.3 million meaning an increase of 29.3 percent. Added value grew by 14.9 percent to SKK 16.7 million. While the firm reported a loss of SKK 3.3 million in 2004, it managed to make a taxed profit of SKK 511,000 in 2005.
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