Austrian economic news in a flash - 25 October 2010

Vaccine developer Intercell reported positive results from a Phase II clinical trial on a vaccine against  hospital-acquired infections. The vaccine would fight infections with the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which are with increasing antibiotic resistance, the company said.
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SW Umwelttechnik AG said it had decided to issue a EUR 10m bond in order to finance its expansion in Romania. The eight-year bond will bear a coupon of 4.625%.
*Peter Malanik, executive at Austrian Airlines (AUA), told APA news agency that the planned flight tax as of 2011 will be an additional hurdle on the revamp path of the company. AUA will account for half of the total collected flight taxes, according to early estimates. AUA fears that clients will chose flights to nearby countries in order to avoid the extra costs.
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Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, CEO of oil and gas group OMV, said the company will have no problems in finding financing for the EUR 1bn takeover of Turkish Petrol Ofisi. He, however, gave no details on the way of financing. Ruttenstorfer said also that for now there are no plans for rebranding the 2,400 filling stations of Petrol Ofisi.
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Semmelrock, part of brick maker Wienerberger, plans to invest above EUR 8m in a new plant to the northwest of Prague. It will produce cobblestones and tiles, Wienerberger said.
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Caterer Do&Co raised its sales by 21% to EUR 222.7m in the first half of its fiscal 2010/11 year. EBIT rose 3% to EUR 15.2m. Airline catering attribute to most of the growth, the company said.