Summary of economic news released on Thursday, September 21
2005 Turnover of Agem Computers Went up 14.5 Percent
Computer wholesaler and distributor Agem Computers s.r.o. reported a 14.5-percent increase in turnover last year. While in 2004 the company's turnover represented SKK 1.79 billion, last year it jumped to SKK 2.05 billion. Fifteen percent of company's total turnover were sales of Agem computers, with over 18,000 pieces sold. Sales of this brand thus increased by 4.3 percent y/y, the company informed on the internet.
GE Money's 2005 Sales Finance Division's Sales up 19% Y/Y
The sales finance division of GE Money financed sales of more than SKK 1.15 billion in eight months of 2005, an increase of almost 19 percent y/y. The company informed that the number of transactions financed went up more than 17 percent to 451,916. GE Money in Slovakia provides installment sales and consumer loans.
Construction Companies Report Seven-Month Sales of SKK 111.7 Bln.
Construction companies reported sales of their products and services as well as goods of SKK 111.7 billion during the first seven months of 2006. Thus their sales rose 17.8 percent when compared with the January-July period of 2005. Construction output of Slovak companies rose by 15.8 percent y/y on a year-on-year basis to SKK 73.5 billion over the first seven months of this year. Private construction companies made up 99 percent of total construction output, reads preliminary data released by the Ministry of Construction and Regional Development.
Povazsky Cukor Sugar Mill Earned Net Profit of SKK 135 Mln. Last Year
Sugar producer Povazsky Cukor, a.s. Trencianska Tepla closed the year of 2005 with a taxed profit of SKK 134.7 million. Compared with the previous year this means an increase of over SKK 19 million. Sugar mill's sales of its own products and services grew by more than one third to SKK 2.031 billion. On the other hand, sales of goods shrank by two thirds to SKK 196.8 million. Added value of the company approximately halved to SKK 324.3 million over the year.
Slovakia Reports Seven-month FOREX Tourism Revenues of SKK 24 Bln.
Slovakia's foreign-exchange revenues from tourism were SKK 24.058 billion over the first seven months of 2006, up 20.6 percent y/y. Slovak citizens' FOREX expenditures while traveling abroad surged 17 percent y/y to SKK 17.355 billion. The balance shows an SKK 6.703 billion surplus, up 31 percent y/y, according to Economy-Ministry data based on the National Bank of Slovakia's preliminary data.
ZSSK Cargo's 2005 Capital Expenditures SKK 1.1 Bln.
The railway cargo company Zeleznicna Spolocnost Cargo Slovakia's, a.s., (ZSSK Cargo), capital expenditures were SKK 1.102 billion last year. Of this, the company invested 87 percent into rolling stocks. In total, ZSSK Cargo planned capital expenditures of SKK 1.21 billion in 2005. However, ZSSK Cargo moved some investment projects to 2006 due to weather, complications with procurement, or a failure of suppliers to fulfill contracts, the company writes in its annual report for 2005. The company covered its investment projects from its own and foreign resources in an equal ratio.
Steel Form's 2005 Sales Grew 43 Percent Y/Y to SKK 121.8 Mln.
Sheet-processing company Steel Form, s.r.o., Piestany, recorded 2005 sales of its own products and services of SKK 121.8 million, a 43-percent y/y increase. Production consumption grew 40.6 percent to SKK 82.9 million. The company generated added value of SKK 38.4 million, up SKK 10.6 million y/y, the company published in the Commercial Bulletin on the internet portal www.epi.sk.
RUZ Advises Cabinet to Withdraw Revisions to Tax Laws
The National Employers' Association (RUZ) is against the measures that the Finance Ministry has proposed in its revisions to the Income-Tax Law and the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Law. "We regard these revisions as incorrect, as violating the stability of public finances, and as harmful to the business environment," claims RUZ secretary Martin Hostak.
Tatranska Mliekaren Dairy's 2005 Turnover Increased
The dairy Tatranska Mliekaren, a.s., Kezmarok, posted an increase in turnover in 2005. Sales of own its products and services increased more than 33 percent to SKK 1.058 billion y/y. Revenues from goods sold went up 5.1 percent to SKK 183.1 million y/y. The company expects sales to continue rising this year.
Town of Zilina Posts Balanced H1 Performance
The town of Zilina closed the H1 2006 with a nearly balanced performance. Total revenues were SKK 1.098 billion. They surpassed expenditures by SKK 204,000. The town collected SKK 324.7 million in taxes, and non-tax income was SKK 329.2 million. Further SKK 358.9 million from current and capital grants went into the town's treasury. Loans drawn and bonds issued increased Zilina's income SKK 81.7 million.
SSE Wants to Discuss Electricity Prices With Slovenske Elektrarne
Regional power distributor Stredoslovenska Energetika, a.s., (SSE), has prepared compensation measures for low-income citizens that would make electric energy for households cheaper. "A SKK 300 million contribution from electricity distributors to a social fund will create room for a 6-percent decrease in electricity prices for about 300,000 households. This would match the government's proposal requiring a real decrease in electric energy prices for low-income households," said head of the SSE communication department Radoslava Gbelska. The government would redistribute these funds.
Spice Producer Progast's 2005 Profit over SKK 66 Mln.
Producer and seller spices and food technology additives Progast, s.r.o., increased its profit nearly 80 percent to SKK 66.3 million in 2005. Output went up 5.2 percent to SKK 312.5 million. Sales of its own products and services were SKK 312.1 million. Revenues from goods sold were SKK 83.3 million. The company generated added value of SKK 125.9 million, up 40 million y/y.
Total assets were SKK 216 million at the end of December with current assets at SKK 187.7 million and fixed assets at SKK 27.7 million. Obligations were SKK 105.2 million. Shareholders` equity was SKK 109.4 million.
Transport Minister Recalls ZSSK Cargo Top Management
The board of directors of the railway cargo company Zeleznicna Spolocnost Cargo Slovakia, a.s., (ZSSK Cargo), underwent changes. Transport Minister Lubomir Vazny dismissed all five current members and appointed new members as of Friday, September 22. The current chairman of the board of directors and director general Pavol Kuzma will be replaced in these posts by Matej Augustin, arriving in the company from the banking sector. He served as the head of the financial reporting and accounting culture at VUB Banka. The minister did not reveal the names of other board members. "We want to show in practice that the state is not a bad owner, but rather managers are not doing a good job. I strongly believe that these managers will be able to develop the state assets of ZSSK Cargo so that it was a full-fledged railway market entity," Mr. Vazny told a news conference on Thursday.
Electronic Procurement System Starts on January 1
The electronic public-procurement system will operate in Slovakia from January 1, 2007. Despite the launch, Slovakia still lags behind the other European Union (EU) member states with the introduction of electronic public-procurement. "From January, we will have to get used to public procurers having to procure goods only in an electronic form in line with the public procurement law," stated Jana Gocka from the Public Procurement Office. Electronic procurement of services and works will not be obligatory by law. Procurers will have the opportunity to use this form. Among public procurers are towns, municipalities, ministries, central state-administration authorities, and health-care insurers.
MONEY MARKET: Central Bank Rejects All Bids in NBS Bill-Auction
The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) rejected all bank bids in the central bank's bill-auction on Thursday. ING dealer Martin Koska said that, regarding the three-month deposit prices on the market, banks must have demanded yields over the two-week NBS repo rate. The central bank is usually willing to accept the yields of the two-week NBS repo rate in such auctions. Bank bids in the auction were SKK 9.55 billion.
Bakery Kysucke Pekarne's 2005 Output at SKK 147.8 Mln.
Bakery Kysucke Pekarne's, a.s., Cadca, 2005 output fell 2.8 percent to SKK 147.8 million last year. Production costs dropped 10.1 percent to SKK 82.6 million. Added value was SKK 69.3 million, up nearly SKK 5 million y/y. Taxed profit was SKK 7.3 million, up slightly.
Total assets were SKK 69.6 million with fixed assets at SKK 43.7 million. Shareholders' equity covered assets at SKK 22.3 million. Obligations were SKK 45.2 million.
STOCK MARKET: SAX Index Weakens 0.17 Pct. to 402.17 Points
The official SAX share index lost 0.17 percent or 0.68 points to 402.17 points on Thursday. Decreasing share prices of VUB bank and the power engineering company SES Tlmace were behind the losses. Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) dropped from SKK 1.88 billion on Wednesday to SKK 604.1 million on Thursday, of which SKK 5.4 million fell to share trading.
Decision on ZSSK Cargo Privatization by End of 2006
The decision on whether the privatization of railway cargo company Zeleznicna Spolocnost Cargo Slovakia, a.s., (ZSSK Cargo), will continue must be made by the end of 2006, Transport Minister Lubomir Vazny told a news conference on Thursday. "We agreed with three potential buyers that their bids are valid by the end of the year 2006. We will have to take a definitive stance on this issue in this deadline," he stressed. Mr. Vazny said that the decision on privatization would follow a business plan for 2007 that the new management of the company would elaborate. "If we agree on it and the figures prove that ZSSK Cargo will further develop in state hands, we will not privatize it," explained Mr. Vazny.
FOREX MARKET: Crown Fluctuates Along With Hungarian Forint
The Slovak crown opened trading against its reference currency, the euro, on Thursday with losses. The international ratings agency Fitch Ratings changed the prospects of Hungary's ratings from stabile to negative on Wednesday evening, which influenced the Hungarian forint and subsequently the Slovak crown. OTP Banka Juraj Mitosinka said that the local currency opened at 37.470/37.480 SKK/EUR. The crown's exchange rate got over the 37.500 SKK/EUR limit because of the losses of the Hungarian forint. Later, the Hungarian currency improved moderately, which also pushed up the crown. Nevertheless, the Slovak currency again followed the negative development of the forint before the close of trading, and the exchange rate stood at 37.500/37.510 SKK/EUR.
Two Sony Subcontractors Want to Operate in Nitra Industrial Park
The town of Nitra is in talks with two Japanese investors who would like to operate in the industrial park Nitra -- North as subcontractors for Sony. They should create 1,000 to 2,000 new jobs, Nitra Mayor Ferdinand Vitek told a news conference on Thursday. He did not want to elaborate any details on these investments at the moment. Sony, which will manufacture LCD TV sets in Nitra, will build its plant on 40 hectare plots of land that have been settled from the viewpoint of ownership rights. The Nitra industrial park has 200 hectares, of which 90 hectares already has been occupied. The town's territorial plan has an allocation of almost 400 hectares for industry in this part of the town. Until now 200 hectares of land has been settled, said Ondrej Scurka, an authorized representative of the Nitra invest company, which was established by the town to secure land buyouts for the industrial park.