Economic news released by SITA on January 1
HVB Bank Slovakia Earned SKK 774.3 Mln. Pre-Tax Profit
HVB Bank Slovakia, a.s., (HVB Bank), earned a preliminary pretax profit of SKK 774.3 million for last year according to international financial reporting standards (IFRS). Its taxed profit was SKK 606 million. Bank's net interest income was SKK 1.35 billion, and net income from fees and commissions was SKK 252.1 million. Net income from financial instruments for trading and investment financial instruments was SKK 474.9 million.
Vets Found Ten Scrapie Cases in Slovakia Last Year
Last year Slovak vets examined 66,032 beef samples for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and 7,503 samples for scrapie in sheep and goats. Out of all animals examined vets confirmed ten scrapie cases in sheep, states a report published by the State Veterinary and Food Administration (SVPS).
VUB Bank Reports 2006 Pre-tax Profit of SKK 4.805 Bln.
VUB bank closed last year with a pre-tax profit of SKK 4.805 billion according to international accounting standards. Its taxed profit amounted to SKK 3.758 billion. Net interest income of the bank was SKK 6.581 billion. Net income from fees and commissions stood at SKK 1.918 billion, informed the bank on Thursday.
Slovak Caves Attracted almost 686,800 Tourists Last Year
Last year almost 686,800 people visited twelve caves open to the public in Slovakia, which is 1,800 more than in 2005. Demanovska Jaskyna Slobody with over 162,900 visitors was the most popular among tourists, head of the cave operation and marketing department at the Slovak Cave Administration Lubica Nudzikova told SITA.
Slovak Banking Sector Reports 2006 Preliminary Profit of SKK 16 Bln.
Preliminary figures released by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) show that commercial banks in Slovakia closed last year with an aggregate taxed profit of SKK 15.856 billion. Most banks ended the monitored period in the black when their aggregate taxed profit was SKK 19.48 billion. Net interest income was SKK 34.585 billion and the net income from fees and commissions amounted to SKK 11.113 billion. The balance-sheet total of commercial banks in Slovakia stood at SKK 1,409 billion at the end of last December, shows NBS data.
Ernst & Young Slovakia with SKK 31.5 Mln. Profit Last Business Year
Auditor and consulting company Ernst & Young Slovakia, s.r.o., Bratislava, reported a taxed profit of SKK 31.5 million in the business year from July 2005 to June 2006. This represents growth of 11.6 percent compared with the previous business year. Sales of its products and services were SKK 243.7 million, up 11.1 percent y/y. The company's managing partner Peter Chrenko informed that Ernst & Young reached a 16 percent year-on-year increase in revenues in Slovakia. "We can be satisfied and we will endeavor to achieve similar if not better results next year," said Mr. Chrenko.
State Budget Ends January with SKK 3 Bln. Surplus
Slovakia's state budget ended the first month of this year with a surplus of SKK 2.929 billion. Total state budget revenues projected at SKK 310.472 billion for the whole year were SKK 27.159 billion at the end of January, down SKK 5.63 billion y/y. Expenditures projected at SKK 348.858 billion for this year totaled SKK 24.23 billion, meeting the annual plan at 6.95 percent, informed the Finance Ministry.
Telefonica O2 Slovakia Clients Can Make Calls from Friday Midnight
The third mobile operator in Slovakia, Telefonica O2 Slovakia, will launch operations on Friday, February 2, soon after midnight. "Clients pre-registered within the O2 Jednotka campaign will be able to start calling from the first minutes of the operation launch," the firm's spokesperson, Hana Hejskova, told SITA. According to the last published estimates, the first offer of Telefonica O2 Slovakia met with the interest of more than 500,000 clients.
Siemens Business Services is Now Siemens IT Solutions and Services
Siemens Business Services, s.r.o., changed its name to Siemens IT Solutions and Services, s.r.o. from Thursday, February 1. As the company announced, with the new trade name should come closer cooperation with the software development house Siemens Program and System Engineering, s.r.o. Executive director of Siemens IT Solutions and Services Peter Pronay said that cooperation of these companies lifts Siemens to the leading position on the local market of IT solutions and services.
CSOB Stavebna Sporitelna Posted a Loss of SKK 16.7 Mln. Last Year
Home savings bank CSOB Stavebna Sporitelna, a.s. closed last year SKK 16.7 million in the red, while the company reported a profit over nine months of last year. Representatives of the company informed that CSOB Stavebna Sporitelna re-assessed its own credit portfolio and decided to set aside additional resources to cover its credit risk. The company reported SKK 101.8 million in formed provisions and the loss is a result of this process.
Russia and Slovakia to Meet Over Transpetrol in February
Russian and Slovak negotiators should meet in late February over further procedures in the case of a 49-percent stake in crude-oil pipeline operator Transpetrol, which probably is still owned by the Dutch subsidiary of bankrupt Russian Yukos. "The two countries' representatives will exchange information and define the state of affairs at an intergovernmental commission," said the Economy Ministry's spokesman Branislav Zvara. He said that two variants are still in the game, either the buyback of shares by Slovakia, or the sale of the stake to a strategic partner of Russian origin.
Leftist Government Will Support Mortgages for Young People
Demand for mortgages with state support for young people, which banks started to provide from the beginning of this year, has been growing gradually, informed Tatra Banka representatives at a meeting with Prime Minister Robert Fico on Thursday. "Almost every second client is interested in a loan with more advantageous interest rates and around one-third of all provided mortgages is supported by the state," said deputy chairman of Tatra Banka board of directors Igor Vida. As Mr. Fico informed, the government plans to continue in providing support for mortgage loans to young people because this financial product has its justification in real life. The prime minister considers mortgage loans supported by the state to be a financial product for young people whose income "corresponds to Slovak reality." To be eligible, the maximum applicant's monthly income cannot exceed SKK 24,000. According to Mr. Fico it is a social program the aim of which is to help young people. He said that 95 percent of young people can only dream about such income.
Citibank Slovakia Earns a Pretax Profit of SKK 496.9 Mln. in 2006
Citibank (Slovakia) closed last year with a pretax profit of SKK 496.9 million according to preliminary results. Its taxed profit amounted to SKK 383.8 million. Net interest income was at SKK 606.5 million and net income from fees and commissions achieved SKK 49.7 million. Net income from financial operations was SKK 599.9 million.
Banks Approved Mortgages of SKK 20.909 Bln. in 2006
Ten commercial banks that provide mortgages in Slovakia approved mortgages totaling SKK 20.909 billion last year, which is a 15.2-percent increase y/y. In contrast, the volume of contracts dropped 3.3 percent y/y. Thus, the banks made 16,252 contracts in twelve months of 2006, and in 2005, it was 16,802 contracts. Clients actually drew mortgages of SKK 16.654 billion in 14,700 contracts from the 2006 approved volume, according to the National Bank of Slovakia's (NBS) figures.
MONEY MARKET: Banks Start this Month with a Liquidity Deficit
Quiet trading atmosphere prevailed on the interbank market on Thursday. However, commercial banks opened this month with a liquidity deficit. They deposited SKK 17.262 billion in their reserve accounts in the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), meeting the February minimum requirement on a cumulative basis at 79.83 percent. The central bank set the February requirement at nearly SKK 22 billion. Tatra Banka dealer Jozef Bozek stated that banks neither deposited funds in the NBS sterilization, nor did they refinance themselves in the central bank.
UniBanka Reports SKK 388.2 Mln. Pretax Profit in 2006
UniBanka, a.s., closed last year with a preliminary pretax profit of SKK 388.2 million according to international financial reporting standards (IFRS). Its taxed profit amounted to SKK 315.5 million. Net interest income was SKK 1.74 billion and net income from fees and commissions reached SKK 437.1 million. The balance-sheet total of the bank stood at SKK 50.116 billion at the end of December 2006, according to data disclosed by the bank.
STOCK MARKET: VUB Shares Help SAX Index Strengthen
Slovakia's official SAX share index improved on Thursday. VUB shares pushed up the value of the SAX index 0.31 percent or 1.27 points to 415.02 points. Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) dropped from SKK 20.37 billion on Wednesday to SKK 452.741 million on Thursday with SKK 1.843 million in share trading.
FOREX MARKET: Crown Continues its Successive Gains
The Slovak crown continued on Thursday the strengthening from the previous day and its exchange rate steadied below 35.000 SKK/EUR. The local currency opened just above this level, and before the close of trading, the exchange rate stood at 34.800/34.820 SKK/EUR. "The region once again influenced the Slovak crown, above all the strengthening of the Polish zloty and the Hungarian forint," CSOB's Richard Brza commented.
DSS Tatra Banky Managed Assets Worth SKK 5.4 Bln. in Late 2006
Supplemental pension insurance company (DDS) Tatra Banky, a.s., managed savers' assets in the net value of SKK 5.4 billion in its three funds at the end of last year. DDS Tatra Banky administered assets worth SKK 5.2 billion in its balanced contributory fund, and this fund reported appreciation of 2.22 percent p.a. last year. The net value of assets in the growth contributory fund reached SKK 63 million in late December 2006, and the appreciation was 3.51 percent p.a. The pension payout fund in administration of DDS Tatra Banky managed assets amounting to SKK 94 million at the end of 2006 on appreciation of 2.28 percent p.a.
Turnover in 2006 on Bratislava Stock Exchange at SKK 1,984 Bln.
The 2006 turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) totaled SKK 1,984 billion, down 1 percent compared to 2005. On the whole, as many as 24,522 transactions were made on the stock exchange last year, of which 22,045 deals of SKK 5.2 billion fell to share trading. Bond transaction turnover reached SKK 1,979 billion in 2,477 deals. Thus, share trading made up only 0.3 percent of the BCPB's total turnover last year.