Poland's TVN Q4 net falls, revenues to grow

Poland's TVN Q4 net falls, revenues to grow

Polish television broadcaster TVN said on Monday its fourth-quarter net profit fell 27 percent to 68 million zlotys ($21.44 million) due to higher costs and lower revenues from financial operations.

Full-year earnings, however, edged up to 209 million last year from 196 million in 2004 due to strong performance in the first three quarters.

TVN said in a statement its 2006 revenues should rise by between 16 and 18 percent, quicker than the expected growth of the local television advertising market, which TVN predicts will rise 12 percent this year.

Consolidated revenues grew at TVN, a leading Polish media group with a market value of $1.9 billion, by 20 percent to 860 million zlotys in 2005, thanks to higher ad revenues and growing audience share.

In its financial forecasts for 2006 the company expects its EBITDA margin, an efficiency ratio, to reach between 29 and 31 percent in 2006, down from 34 percent last year due to extra costs linked to its employee incentives programme.

Excluding the costs, which TVN estimates at 44 million zlotys, its EBITDA margin would stand at between 34 and 36 percent, the company said.

Plastics fastener firm sets up in Poland

Nifco is to build a plant in Swidnica.

The plastics fasteners manufacturer Nifco is planning to establish a manufacturing operation in Swidnica, Poland.

The company said its decision to start manufacturing in central and eastern Europe follows the move by its customers into the region. Nifco supplies injection moulded fasteners to many Japanese, Korean and European car manufacturers.

It is targeting the spring of 2007 for the start-up of the factory, which it said will be on a par with its Japanese factories in terms of efficiency and quality. Nifco’s other European factories are in Stockton-on-Tees, UK, and Barcelona, Spain.

In the first year of operations, the Polish plant will employ 65 people and generate sales of ¥400m (E3m), the company said.

POLAND: Fiat aims to recover market share

POLAND: Fiat aims to recover market share

According to the Polish News Bulletin, Fiat is aiming to sell 30,000 cars in Poland this year.

The Italian brand lost its market-leading position in the market in 2005, and fell to third position. In January 2006 it ranked sixth.

Fiat is hoping that new models, including the Punto, Panda, Albea and Sedici, will help it recover its share from 10% to 11%.

EU Will Aid Intermodal Transport in Poland ?

EU Will Aid Intermodal Transport in Poland ?

The European Commission has authorised an aid regime in Poland aimed at encouraging the development of combined transport within the framework of the construction of logistics terminals. This regime should lead to a 7% increase in intermodal transport. It is open to all EU companies which carry out or are planning to carry out transport operations in Poland, and which invest in inter-modal transport. The regime will be in place for 31 December 2008, and will benefit from a budget of EUR 31.6 million.

Switzerland to help Poland catch up with Europe

Switzerland to help Poland catch up with Europe

Poland will get more than half a billion of Swiss francs from a Swiss instrument levelling economic and social differences in the enlarged EU, Foreign Minister of the Swiss Confederation Ms Micheline Calmy-Rey said in Warsaw on Monday during a one day working visit to Poland.

"Switzerland is not EU member but it has close relations with the union," the Swiss minister said. "We have decided to make a contribution to level economic and social differences between the new and the old EU states and to allocate 1 billion Swiss francs for the purpose," she added.

An agreement between EU and the Swiss Confederation setting the framework for concrete projects, to be financed from the mentioned fund is going to be approved by the European Commission on Febraury 27. Later Poland and Switzerland will jointly work on projects to be implemented from the funds. Poland's Foreign Minister Stefan Meller said after a meeting with the Swiss minister that all issues related to Polish-Swiss relations and international affairs had been discussed.

"It has been our joint idea to start consultations between our ministries at the level of departments dealing with European affairs especially as regards all issues related to assistance.

He added that cultural exchange between the two countries should be increased as well as cooperation between education ministries. "It would be good to launch a scholarship programme," he said.

Ms Calmy-Rey stressed that Polish-Swiss relations are perfect. She hoped for their intensification now when Poland became the EU membership.

BREMBO: NEW PLANT IN POLAND, 130,000,000 IN PROCEEDS IN 2007

BREMBO: NEW PLANT IN POLAND, 130,000,000 IN PROCEEDS IN 2007

The Brembo group has inaugurated the new Dabrowa foundry in Poland this morning. Forty-five million euros have been invested in order to double the smelting capacity of the group, which will go from 90 thousand tonnes to 160 thousand tonnes, between European and American plants. Poland is, for Brembo, the second top nation in the world for investments and personnel employed and is a true "launching pad" towards the automobile markets of eastern Europe, "in development". Since 1995, Brembo has invested in Poland a total of around 100 million euros and in 2006 it forecasts spending of 20 million for the doubling of the processing plant alongside the new foundry. Between the production site of Dabrowa and that of Czestchowa, where the firm has had a plant since 1995, Brembo employees about 800 workers in Poland, a figure that at the end of the year will become 1000. According to the president of the group, Alberto Bombassei, who inaugurated the new plant along with Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti and his Polish counterpart Piotr Grzegorz Wozniak, Brembo's overall proceeds in Poland in 2007 will exceed 200 million euros, of which 130 coming from the plant inaugurated today.