The economic sentiment indicator (IES) in Slovakia rose 1.5 percentage points from April to 106.5 points in May and exceeded thus its long-term average by 2.3 points. The indicator was affected by the increased confidence in the construction industry, and a less moderate increase in confidence indicators in retail sector and consumers. Confidence indicator in industry reported another drop. Compared with the same period of 2003, the indicator was by 0.7 percentage points lower, the Slovak Statistics Office announced on Thursday.

Union of Slovak Towns Opposes Sale of 51 % in Heating Plants

The Union of Slovak Towns (UMS) is against the privatization of 51 percent in heating plants in Bratislava, Kosice, Zvolen, Martin and Trnava. UMS secretary general Marian Minarovic informed SITA, representatives of the above towns would continue to require 100 or at least majority shares in the heating plants.

Nimnica Spa Ended 2003 in the Black

Kupele Nimnica, a.s. spa ended the year 2003 with a profit of SKK 945,000 on output of SKK 62.6 million. Production costs were SKK 29.4 million. The company generated added value of SKK 34.6 million. Goods sales amounted to SKK 4.1 million on costs of SKK 2.7 million. The company plans to end the current year with a loss of almost SKK 4.8 million.

Veritel Starts Settling Hospital Debts under Health Ministry

Veritel, a.s., the company whose main objective is to clear debts in the healthcare system, has begun settling debts of healthcare facilities controlled by the Health Ministry. Thus it has begun the second phase of the healthcare sector debt settlement. During this phase, Veritel will settle the debts of 52 facilities, the company informed on Thursday.

Bearings Producer GTS Dolny Kubin with SKK 310.4 Mln. Sales

Bearings producer Glacier Tribometal Slovakia (GTS), Dolny Kubin, a.s., reached sales for its own production and services of SKK 310.4 million over 2003, which represents an increase by SKK 2.8 million from 2002. Output grew SKK 16.9 million to SKK 320.6 million, however the company deepened its loss by SKK 1.7 million to SKK 7.1 million. This year GTS Dolny Kubin plans sales of SKK 442 million and an SKK 35 million profit.

Bus Transporter SAD Presov with SKK 1.78 Mln. Net Profit in 2003

Bus transporter SAD Presov, a.s., netted SKK 1.78 million last year. Total sales exceeded SKK 538 million, which means an increase by SKK 26 million compared with 2002. Costs rose SKK 24 million to SKK 536 million. SAD Presov director general Miroslav Biros said that the company would allocate 10 percent of profit to the reserve fund and the remainder would be used to purchase and install information tables on buses.

Analysts Estimate April Trade Deficit from SKK 1.5 Bln. to SKK 6 Bln.

Bank analysts differ in their estimates of the foreign trade balance for April, but they have agreed that it was negative. They predict that Slovakia ended April with a monthly trade deficit between SKK 1.5 billion and SKK 6 billion. The Slovak Statistics Office will release preliminary trade figures for April on Friday, May 28.

Slovnaft Crude-Oil Refiner to Pay Out SKK 132.5 Dividend per Share

Crude-oil refiner Slovnaft, a.s. Bratislava will pay out an SKK 132.5 dividend per share, which represents 13.3 percent of the share’s nominal value. In total Slovnaft will pay out SKK 2.733 billion in dividends. Shareholders decided on dividends at their annual general meeting on Thursday.

Financial Company Majetkovy Holding with SKK 101.5 Mln. Profit

Financial company Majetkovy Holding, a.s., Bratislava, reached a profit of SKK 101.5 million over 2003, growing 94 percent from 2002. The company’s profit from financial operations was SKK 229.7 million, while it reported an operating loss. Total revenues from sales of securities were SKK 1.532 billion. According to data disclosed by the company it plans to close this year with a profit of SKK 60 million.

SPaP Shipping Company with 2003 Profit of SKK 3 Mln.

Shipping company Slovenska Plavba a Pristavy (SPaP) closed the year 2003 with a consolidated profit of SKK 3 million. The company’s sales of its own products and services dropped by SKK 99.9 million y/y to SKK 733.8 million. SpaP production dipped by 6.6 percent to SKK 775.5 million at the end of December, informed the company.

Aluminum Smelter ZSNP Reduced Loss to SKK 10 Mln. in 2003

Aluminum smelter ZSNP, a.s., Ziar nad Hronom, improved its financial results significantly when it reduced its loss from SKK 2.5 billion in 2002 to SKK 10 million in 2003. „Though the company did not get out of the red, we consider such a result as acceptable,“ the company’s general director Peter Ondro said to SITA news agency on Thursday. ZSNP’s sales totaled SKK 3.745 billion over the previous year, which was SKK 681 million less than in 2002. Output dropped SKK 925 million to SKK 3.627 billion in 2003, while added value grew 3.1 percent to SKK 1.088 billion.

Preliminary Hearing for Drukos Creditors Concluded on Thursday

A four-day preliminary hearing on the issue of bankruptcy against unlicensed deposit company Drukos was concluded in Banska Bystrica on Thursday. The court was examining whether claims amounting to SKK 10.064 billion, filed by over 4,400 creditors, are justified. The court dealt with around 1,000 creditors per day. Before the hearing receiver of assets in bankruptcy Marta Todekova rejected claims for over SKK 8.96 billion and asked creditors to complete the required documentation. The court then recognized claims from those who had done so. Court Secretary Maria Hustavova told SITA that the hearing went smoothly and that only a fraction of creditors attended personally, while the remainder were represented by their lawyers.

Kappa Expects Operating Revenues at SKK 2.815 Bln. this Year

Pulp and paper mill Kappa Sturovo, a.s., plans operating revenues of SKK 2.815 billion on operating costs of SKK 2.66 billion. The company reported that its operating profit of SKK 155.2 million will be revised by losses from financial operations at SKK 22 million. Kappa expects a net profit at SKK 123.7 million.

Ball Bearings Producer Kinex Bytca’s Profit Dropped to SKK 30.6 Mln.

Engineering company Kinex Bytca reported a profit of SKK 30.6 million in the last year, which was an SKK 104.15 million drop from 2002. Sales of the company’s own products and services decreased by SKK 59 million to SKK 1.472 billion, the company informed.

Tatramat Reports 2003 Operating Revenues of SKK 637.26 Mln.

White goods producer Tatramat, a.s., Poprad recorded operating revenues amounting to SKK 637.26 million for the last year, which approximately equals the amount achieved in 2002. The company made a profit of SKK 19.52 million: a drop by about SKK 2 million compared with 2002.

Hydina Cifer Poultry Processor Output Down to SKK 618 Mln. in 2003

Poultry processing firm Hydina Cifer reported output of SKK 617.6 million for last year: a decrease of over SKK 210 million from 2002. Sales of the company fell almost 46 percent to stand at SKK 53.3 million at the end of 2003. Despite a drop in output, the poultry processor managed to reduce its loss by almost SKK 20 million from 2002 to SKK 23.7 million last year, according to data disclosed by the company.

Slovak Association of Employers‘ Federations Elects New President

The new president of the Slovak Association of Employers‘ Federations (AZZZ) has become, after Thursday’s AZZZ general assembly, the until now president of the Federation of Employers in the Energy Sector, Tomas Malatinsky. He replaced Michal Lach in the position, who had headed up AZZZ for 12 years.

FOREX MARKET: Explosives Discovery Weakens Crown on Thursday

The Slovak crown weakened towards the euro on Thursday. Trading started calmly in the morning, euro purchases shifted the local currency from the opening 40.000/40.050 SKK/EUR to 40.020/40.070 SKK/EUR, Tatra Banka dealer Bibiana Valachova informed. However, during trading, information that the police discovered explosives near to where the NATO meeting is about to take place over the weekend, provided an impetus for further euro purchases. The crown thus weakened to 40.090/40.140 SKK/EUR. At the close of trading the Slovak currency corrected to 40.040/40.090 SKK/EUR, said the dealer.

MONEY MARKET: Banks Getting Rid of Excess Liquidity on Thursday

The upcoming end of the month caused a moderate drop in prices of the shortest deposits on the Slovak money market. „Banks have no more reason to keep funds on their accounts,“ stated VUB dealer Rastislav Haban. Banking houses were getting rid of excess liquidity over Thursday, thus pressing one-day deposits below 4 percent. The longer side of the yield curve remained stable. Only instability of the Slovak crown could cause more lively trading in longer deposits, stated Mr. Haban.

Istrobanka Reports Consolidated Profit of SKK 168.78 Mln. in 2003

Consolidated figures show Istrobanka’s profit for last year at SKK 168.78 million, compared with consolidated profit of SKK 263.26 million reported by the bank in 2002. Net interest revenues of Istrobanka reached SKK 848.11 million last year. The balance-sheet total of the bank stood at SKK 27.643 billion in late 2003, according to data disclosed by Istrobanka.

Construction Ministry to Speed Up Project Evaluation to 2.5 Months

The Construction Ministry plans to speed up the process to two and a half months for evaluating projects applying for financial aid from the EU structural fund, which constructs and develops civic infrastructure. At present, this process of assessing projects within the Operational Program Basic Infrastructure at the ministry lasts five months, which deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee for economy, privatization and business Lubomir Vazny considers as too long. Mr. Vazny thinks that the ministry did not anticipate such demand and that is why it was insufficiently prepared for the number of projects.

Refiner Slovnaft Reports Sales of SKK 55.2 Bln. in 2003

Crude oil refinery Slovnaft earned a net profit of nearly SKK 2.740 billion according to the Slovak accounting standards, what represents a year-on-year increase by SKK 0.2 billion. The sales of its own products and services amounted to nearly SKK 55.2 billion, what is down by SKK 0.59 billion in comparison with 2002. The output of the company decreased by SKK 1.010 billion to SKK 58.963 billion last year. The company generated an added value of SKK 9.938 billion, what is down by 0.3 billion y/y. This stems from audited and unconsolidated date published by the company.