Summary of economic news released by SITA on June 14
Window Maker Noves Okna Plans SKK 710 Mln. Sales in 2006
The company Noves Okna, s.r.o., Spisska Nova Ves projects sales of own products and services sold at SKK 710 million this year. Noves plans to close this year with a profit of SKK 50 million. Added value should reach SKK 120 million. The company produces windows, doors and winter gardens. It plans to put out 100,000 window units this year. Noves Okna was established in 1993. It exports about one quarter of its output. The main export destinations are the Czech Republic, Belgium, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. At the end of last year it employed 185 people with average monthly age of SKK 17,913.
Matador Belt Trade with 2005 Sales of SKK 206 Mln.
Conveyor belt distributor Matador Belt Trade, a.s. Puchov reported sales of goods at almost SKK 206 million for last year. Compared to 2004 it represents a 22.9-percent increase. Costs of sales reached SKK 195 million in 2005 and thus grew by 22.2 percent y/y. Trade margin reported a y/y increase of SKK 2.9 million to SKK 11 million at the end of December. Added value however dropped by SKK 757,000 to last year's SKK 2.9 million, informed the company on www.epi.sk.
2005 Profit by Construction Firms with over 20 Employees Up 33 Pct.
Construction firms with twenty and more employees in Slovakia generated a pretax profit of SKK 8.548 billion last year, which is an increase of 33.6 percent from 2004. "Pretax profit growth in current prices can chiefly be ascribed to increased revenues by almost 28.9 percent," reads a report elaborated by the Construction Ministry. Revenues reached SKK 129.509 billion in 2005. From the total 667 companies, 527 closed last year with a profit, while 140 firms showed a loss.
Eurostat: Employment in Slovakia Up 2.4 Percent over Q1 2006
The European Union's Statistical Office Eurostat estimates that employment in Slovakia grew 2.4 percent y/y over the first quarter of this year. The growth dynamics thus accelerated by 1.8 percent compared with the final quarter of last year. Eurostat specified that the number of employed in the Slovak Republic increased by 1.3 percent y/y over the first three months of this year, which is almost two-fold higher growth compared to Q4 2005 when employment grew 0.7 percent. The Statistics Office announced that Q1 2006 employment rose 3.7 percent y/y.
Coop Jednota Trstena Reported 4.4% Increase in 2005 Sales
Local retail chain COOP Jednota Trstena closed last year with sales of goods amounting to SKK 541.8 million. Compared to 2004 this represents a 4.4 percent increase. Cost of sales however surged by more than 5 percent to SKK 445.3 million and thus the trade margin increased only moderately by 0.5 percent y/y to last year's SKK 96.5 million. Sales of its own products and services amounted to SKK 24.3 million. The company closed last year with a net profit of SKK 768,000 and thus nearly halved its profit from 2004.
Slovak Telecom Gets Registration to Provide Triple Play Service
Slovak dominant fixed-line operator Slovak Telekom (ST) will become a service provider for the technological innovation Triple Play in Slovakia. Licensing authority the Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission (RVR) has registered retransmission for Slovak Telekom and thus it will enable Slovak Telekom to provide television and radio program services on Slovak territory. "Within its private cable networks Slovak Telecom can provide official television and radio program services on the territory of Slovakia after settling an SKK 20,000 administration fee," announced the company.
Report on Highways and Dual Carriageways Under Construction
The Transport Ministry evaluates in its report released on Wednesday construction works on highways, dual carriageways and highway feeders by the end of 2005. Around SKK 27 billion was allocated for this purpose since the beginning of the current election term from the autumn 2002 until the end of 2005. In 2006 a further SKK 19 billion should be spent. "Highways with length of at 30.12 km, dual carriageways of 22.11 km and highway feeders of 19.43 km were launched, which certainly contributes towards accomplishing European corridors and strengthening the busiest transport routes," reads the report submitted by the Transport Ministry.
MONEY MARKET: Liquidity Deficit Keeps Overnights Prices High
The interbank market remained in a liquidity deficit after the settlement of regular two-week tenders with the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS). On Wednesday commercial banks deposited SKK 9.309 billion in their minimum reserve accounts in the central bank and thus fulfilled the June reserve requirement at 102.6 percent on a cumulative basis. Due to a lack of liquidity in the sector banks focused on deals with the shortest deposits on Wednesday.
Slovak Banks Approved SKK 73.255 Bln. in Mortgages by April 30
Slovak commercial banks licensed to provide mortgages approved SKK 73.255 billion mortgages on aggregate by the end of April of this year. Of this, clients actually drew mortgages of SKK 64.278 billion. Mortgage banks thus signed 80,904 contracts with clients and 75,450 mortgages were actually drawn as of April 30, announced the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) on Wednesday. NBS data show the aggregate sum of the outstanding principal on mortgages at SKK 58.318 billion. The par value of mortgage-backed bonds in 66 issues floated during the monitored period was SKK 48.046 billion. Banks sold mortgage-backed bonds at a par value of SKK 46.067 billion by the end of April. The face value of mortgage-backed bonds sold covered 78.99 percent of the total sum of the outstanding principal from mortgages.
Household Heating Costs Could Rise Again this Year
It is likely that household heating costs will increase again in the next winter season. The Slovak Association of Heat Producers (SZVT) claims that heat producers will be forced to ask the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (URSO) for a heating price increase due to the development of natural gas prices in the wholesale category. Within heat and hot water production costs, costs for purchasing natural gas make up 65 to 70 percent. "For now it is difficult to estimate how much the heat price might increase. But current development is similar to that of the previous year," said SZVT board of directors' chairman Miroslav Obsivany.
STOCK MARKET: SAX Index Gains Slightly on Wednesday
Shares of crude oil refiner Slovnaft pushed the official SAX share index by 0.19 percent or 0.73 points higher to 378.30 points on Wednesday. Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) decreased from SKK 676.977 million on Tuesday to SKK 252.841 million on Wednesday with SKK 346,300 in share trading.
FOREX MARKET: Crown Lost About 8 Hallers on Wednesday
The Slovak crown depreciated against the euro on Wednesday. The Slovak crown opened against the euro at 38.030/080 SKK/EUR and closed at 38.110/150 SKK/EUR. The US was traded against the euro at 1.2633/2637 USD/EUR on Wednesday. The crown was thus quoted at 30.160/200 SKK/USD. The cross rate of the Slovak and Czech crowns was 1.3430/3460 SKK/CZK.