Economic news released by SITA on Friday, November 10
Headline Inflation Slowed to 3.7 Percent in October
Consumer prices in Slovakia grew 0.2 percent over October. In September however they dropped 0.3 percent from the previous month. Year-on-year headline inflation was 3.7 percent in October, down 0.9 percentage points from September. On average for ten months of this year, consumer prices grew by 4.5 percent, Statistics Office of the Slovak Republic reported on Friday.
Slovakia Reports SKK 9.5 Bln. Trade Deficit in September
Slovakia reported a preliminary trade deficit of SKK 9.5 billion in September. The trade gap in September thus widened about SKK 6.8 billion compared to September 2005. Exports rose 21.9 percent y/y to SKK 113.5 billion. The volume of imports reached SKK 123 billion, up 28.4 percent y/y, the Statistics Office informed on Friday.
Ten-Month Tax and Customs Revenues at SKK 201.723 Bln.
Tax and customs offices in the Slovak Republic collected SKK 201.723 billion in revenue for the state budget in the first ten months of 2006, fulfilling annual budget to 90.7 percent. Of this, tax revenues made up SKK 196.482 billion and non-tax revenues the remaining SKK 5.242 billion. Local tax collection on goods and services of SKK 151.2 billion dominated tax revenues in ten months of 2006, constituting 87.9 percent of the annual target set by the Finance Ministry. Value added tax (VAT) collection was SKK 108.48 billion, and excise tax collection reached SKK 42.671 billion, the tax administration's spokesperson, Adriana Pleskova, informed SITA on Friday.
Flour Mill Mlyn Surany Reports 15.6% Lower Sales in 2005
Flour mill Mlyn Surany, s.r.o. in Sladkovicovo closed last year with total sales of SKK 328.3 million. Of this, sales of its products and services were SKK 195.4 million, down 15.6 percent form year ago. Production costs were SKK 161.2 million last year. The company generated added value of SKK 34.4 million. The company sold fixed assets and inventory for SKK 102.6 million last year. The four mill reported a taxed profit of SKK 1.4 million for last year while in 2004 it was SKK 9.6 million according to data published in the electronic version of the Commercial Bulletin on www.epi.sk.
Only 27 Percent of Households Had Internet Access in Q1
Slovakia is significantly lagging behind the EU average in the number of households with Internet access. Only 27 percent of households were connected to the Internet in Q1 2006, and 11 percent of them had broadband Internet access. Slovakia placed the second from last on the Eurostat's (the Statistical Office of the European Communities) chart about EU Internet usage within EU. The last country in that was Greece where 23 percent of households and 4 percent of enterprises have broadband Internet connections. On average, 52 percent of EU households were connected to the Internet, and 32 percent of households had access to broadband Internet connections.
Asseco Slovakia Reports Q1-Q3 Consolidated Sales of SKK 975 Mln.
Software company Asseco Slovakia, a.s. Bratislava, a member of Asseco group, posted consolidated sales of SKK 975 million over nine months of this year, which is up by over 120 percent y/y. "The consolidated sales include also results of Slovanet, in which Asseco Slovakia has been holding a 51-percent stake since the end of last year. Slovanet's sales make up 40 percent of Asseco`s consolidated sales, which is 389 million, informed PR director Jana Hejjova. The firm started to consolidate results after the first quarter of this year. The Q1-Q3 sales of Asseco's own software, amounting to SKK 478 million, constituted 49 percent of total revenues of Asseco Slovakia.
B.O.F. Records Q1 - Q3 Revenues of SKK 520.4 Mln.
Leasing company B.O.F., a.s. Bratislava reports total revenues of SKK 520.4 million in nine months of this year, which is down by 14.4 percent. B.O.F. marketing director Igor Duric informed that revenues from leasing operations of SKK 381.1 million made up the biggest share of total revenues. Operating costs and expenditures were SKK 437.6 million. The company generated a pretax profit of SKK 145.6 million, which is up 13.4 percent y/y. The balance-sheet total stood at SKK 5.39 billion at the end of September.
Minister Announces Cargo Slovakia will Remain State Property
Transport Minister Lubomir Vazny announced on Friday that the railway company Cargo Slovakia, a.s. (ZSSK Cargo) will not be privatized and remains in the hands of the state. He said that the 2007-2010 business plan drawn up by the current management assured him that the company will manage the situation. The minister underscored that the company has taken a new path. However he says it needs certain consolidation measures.
Bratislava Stock Exchange October Turnover was almost SKK 100 Bln.
Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) reached almost SKK 100 billion in October. Investors transferred 540,000 securities worth SKK 98.57 billion in 648 transactions last month. The turnover decreased by 13.4 percent from the previous month and it was 2.2-times as high as in October 2005. Turnover in 420 price-making transactions amounted to SKK 312.4 million, while securities worth SKK 98.26 billion changed hands in 228 direct transactions. Turnover on the BCPB since the beginning of the year was SKK 773.43 billion, which is 17.2 percent less than in the same period of 2005, the BCPB informed SITA on Friday.
Slovakia's FOREX Reserves up USD 338 Mln. This Week
Slovakia's foreign exchange (FOREX) reserves reported a growth of USD 338.9 million over the past week to USD 16.0257 billion as of November 8. Behind the increase was a growth in the reserve assets of Slovakia's commercial banks as well as a slight rise in reserve assets of the central bank. Commercial banks' reserve assets increased USD 337.6 million w/w to USD 2.8774 billion. The National Bank of Slovakia's (NBS) reserves surged USD 1.3 million to USD 13.1483 billion, the NBS informed.
ZSNP Wants to Sell its Subsidiary ZUS Servis
Aluminum smelter ZSNP, a.s., Ziar nad Hronom announced its intention to sell a 100-percent stake in ZUS Servis, s.r.o., Ziar nad Hronom, as well as the assets of its company Naradovna. "This step follows the strategy of ZSNP majority owner, which is the private equity group Penta. After a comprehensive restructuring was carried out, the company is seeking prospective investors for the revitalized companies, who will continue business activities," explained ZSNP spokesperson Marta Zabkova.
Regional Prosecution Reviews Third Mobile Operator Tender
The Bratislava Regional Prosecution is examining the third mobile operator tender that the B Four consortium filed with the General Prosecution at the end of August. "The deadline for the verdict has been postponed, and we expect the Bratislava regional prosecutor to arrive at a decision next week," General Prosecution spokesperson Svetlana Husarova told SITA News Agency. The consortium, consisting of the private equity group Penta and the Czech company Radiokomunikace, claimed that the tender was not inline with the electronic-communications law.
Kooperativa Poistovna with Q1-Q3 Written Premiums of SKK 8.531 Bln.
Insurance company Kooperativa Poistovna, a.s., reported preliminary written premiums of SKK 8.531 billion for Q1-Q3 2006. This is an increase of over 8 percent y/y. However, the year-on-year comparability is influenced by changes in the accounting method because the company switched to international accounting standards. Written premiums in life insurance increased more significantly, going up 20.5 percent y/y to SKK 2.89 billion in September. Non-life insurance grew 2.6 percent to be at SKK 5.631 billion in late September 2006, according to data provided to SITA by Kooperativa representatives.
Money Marlet Closes Week in Moderate Liquidity Surplus
The money market closed this week in a slight liquidity surplus. OTP Banka dealer Juraj Mitosinka stated that commercial banks deposited SKK 23.93 billion in their reserve accounts in the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) on Friday, meeting the minimum requirement for November on a cumulative basis at 118.98 percent. Only the NBS' regular repo tender on Tuesday can influence the liquidity in the sector. With regard to the amount of available funds, the banks will have room to exceed the previous repo tender of SKK 110.412 billion maturing on Wednesday.
Basis Effect and Cheaper Petrol Slow Down Price Growth in October
The basis effect pressed the October year-on-year headline inflation to its low so far this year. According to figures released by the Slovak Statistics Office, consumer prices grew 3.7 percent y/y in October, while in September the year-on-year headline inflation was 4.6 percent. Gas prices posted a rapid growth last October, which significantly contributed to the general growth in consumer prices. The October inflation, thus, just minimally exceeded analysts' expectations, who predicted the consumer price growth to reach 3.6 percent in October.
High September Trade Deficit Caused Chiefly by Strong Import Growth
The development of Slovakia's foreign trade caused an unpleasant surprise in September. According to the Statistics Office's preliminary data, Slovakia's trade-balance deficit reached SKK 9.5 billion in the ninth month of 2006, which was over SKK 7 billion more than the market expected. "Export productivity of the Slovak economy is still good. Export growth is 21.9 percent, which industrial production and sales data also implied. However, imports were a surprise because they rose as much as 28.4 percent," Tatra Banka analyst Juraj Valachy commented. It probably is the continual imports of investment goods and constantly high crude-oil prices.
Towns Want Transfer of Heating Plants Again
The Slovak Union of Towns (UMS) asks for a free transfer of heating plants in Bratislava, Martin, Kosice, Trnava, Zilina, and Zvolen to municipalities. "The aforementioned companies are not any strategic properties; they have a clearly local character. The halting of privatization should not and cannot negatively influence the towns in their efforts to ensure effective energy accessible for inhabitants, as is in line with EU strategy and policy," said the union.
STOCK MARKET: SAX Index Moderately Improves At End of Week
The Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) moderately improved at the end of the week when shares of the Slovak crude-oil refiner pushed up Slovakia's official SAX share index 0.09 percent or 0.37 points to 397.24 points. Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) rose from SKK 244.76 million on Thursday to SKK 667.078 million on Friday. As much as SKK 24.706 million fell to share trading mainly because of direct transfers of 1. Garantovana shares.
FOREX MARKET: Crown Moderately Weakens on Friday
The Slovak currency moderately weakened at the end of this week. OTP Banka dealer Juraj Mitosinka commented that the crown opened trading at 36.090/36.110 SKK/EUR. However, the local currency started to lose in the morning. According to Mr. Mitosinka, several factors could have influenced the losses of the crown, such as regional sentiments or profit taking after the crown's previous strengthening to new high against the euro. September's foreign-trade results, which were worse than the market expected, also could have been behind the losses. Thus, the exchange rate of the Slovak crown against the euro got up to 36.240/36.260 SKK/EUR. "Nevertheless, the demand for the Slovak currency again arose on the market at that level, and the crown stood at 36.170/36.190 SKK/EUR before the close of trading.