Page 8 - bne_Magazine_June_2017

8 I The Month That Was bne June 2017 Business
Central Europe
Czech state-controlled utility CEZ recorded a 13% y/y drop in net profit to CZK8.7bn (€327mn) in the first quarter of 2017, which was better than market expectations. That triggered a rise in guidance from the power utility. Meanwhile, after finance ministry oppo- sition, the supervisory board rejected
an improved offer from privately-held Czech Coal to buy CEZ’s ageing coal- fired Pocerady power plant, despite hav- ing previously said the offer had been approved.
The Slovak government approved investment incentives for a €100mn investment by French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen to launch production of a new model in 2019 at its Trnava plant. The company has pledged to cre- ate 420 new jobs by the end of 2018.
Hungarian telecom Magyar Telekom reported an Ebitda decline of 16.5% in the first quarter to HUF38.3bn (€102.8mn), while after-tax profit fell 54.6% to HUF4.8bn.
Firms controlled by a close ally of
Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Lorinc Meszaros, purchased a 51% stake
in the Hungarian subsidiary of
Czech nuclear engineering firm Kralovopolska RIA. The move comes
as Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom gets ready to announce the first tenders for the €12bn project to expand Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant.
Warsaw-listed telecom and media group Cyfrowy Polsat posted net profit of PLN279.4mn (€66.1mn) in the first quarter. The result shows the com- pany’s net profit grew just over 59% y/y, although it fell 20% in quarterly terms.
Southeast Europe
Citizens of the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija resoundingly voted ‘no’ in a referendum on whether to
www.bne.eu
open two gold mines in the area. Res- ervoir Minerals, a company purchased in 2016 by Canada-based miner Nevsun Resources, had planned to open the mines on Mount Kozuf after gold depos- its were found northwest of Gevgelija.
Wikipedia has been unavailable to Turkish users since being blocked
by a court on April 2. The website was told by a minister that it should open a representative office in Turkey and start paying taxes.
Sweden-based mobile operator Telia- Sonera sold a 7% stake in the largest Turkish mobile operator Turkcell
for TRY1.78bn (€461mn) through an accelerated book-building offering to institutional investors.
Eastern Europe
Ukraine’s State Property Fund (SPF) initiated a court hearing aimed at can- celling the 2011 sale-purchase agree- ment of a 92.8% stake of Ukrtelecom, the country’s largest fixed line operator, which is owned by the SCM holding of oligarch Rinat Akhmetov.
Yandex said it is looking to buy back its Class A shares, amounting to 20% of its equity. The Russian-Chinese Invest- ment Fund (RCIF) has also applied
to buy a stake in the internet major’s Yandex.Taxi service.
A court in Odesa region ruled
that Ostchem Holding, controlled
by Ukrainian gas oligarch Dmi-
try Firtash, should collect multi- million debts from state-owned Odesa Port Plant. The plant’s debt to Ostchem
formed over almost three years, (exclud- ing fines, penalties and other losses), comes to $193mn.
Eurasia
A preliminary deal signed by French construction group Bouygues and Imam Khomeini Airport Company
to build the planned new IranShahr (Iran City) terminal has been cancelled. French news reports indicated the proj- ect was hindered by Bouygues’ struggle to obtain financing from international banks that are wary of US sanctions that still exist on Iran. The Iranians said the deal was cancelled because the French firm was behind schedule.
South Africa’s MTN agreed a prelimi- nary deal to invest an initial $350mn in Iranian fixed broadband provider Iranian Net. The investment gives it a 49% stake in the new firm and unlocks a $400mn loan from the Iranian govern- ment to the venture. MTN owns 49% of MTN-Irancell, the second biggest Iranian mobile network market player.
42 workers were killed by a huge explosion at Zemestanyurt coal mine in Golestan province, northeastern Iran. It was reportedly ignited during attempts to jump-start a locomotive.
France’s Citroen took over a plant of Iran’s second biggest carmaker SAIPA Group in preparation for assembling what will be the first Citroen car to hit the Iranian market in 39 years. It is expected that the vehicle will be a C4. SAIPA was actually created by Citroen in 1966 to produce the Citroen 2CV in Iran.