Austrian economic news in a flash - 22.10

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Oil and gas group OMV said it had agreed with Dogan Holding to take the latter's 54.17% in Turkish petrol filling stations operator Petrol Ofisi for EUR 1bn. Thus, OMV will own 95.75% in Petrol Ofisi. OMV said it does not exclude a capital increase in order to finance the takeover.
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AE&E, the machinery unit of A-Tec, which filed for insolvency, said that the talks with banks are running positively. The banks have expressed their readiness to support the operations of AE&E and secure its liquidity.
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Online bookmaker Bwin said it has profited strongly from the World Cup in South Africa as its gaming revenue grew by 22% to EUR 123m in the first nine months of 2010. The company, which is to merge with UK PartyGaming, gave no forecasts for 2010.
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Motorcycle producer KTM Power Sports closed the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2009/10 with sales of EUR 87.5m and EBIT of EUR 22.4m. The positive development was attributed to the successful launch of new products. The net profit came in at EUR 11.3m, compared to a loss of EUR 81.4m a year earlier.
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Regional utility EVN wants to restart its capital hike as soon as possible, its CEO said at the Gewinn Messe. The initial plans of the company have failed after German player EnBW decided it wanted to keep its stake in EVN.
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Siemens Austria will be responsible for one-fourth of a EUR 170m contract awarded to its parent in Georgia. Siemens will renovate transmission lines and transformers in the country.
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Duropack GmbH plans to bundle its cardboard production in Austria at its Kalsdorf site near Graz. The company will invest EUR 4.5m in the plant in 2010 and 2011. Vienna will remain as headquarters of Duropack.
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The current year runs "stable" and "well" for Telekom Austria, CEO Hannes Ametsreiter said at the Gewinn Messe. He added that the company's priorities will be high cash flow and stable dividends.
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The global oil production industry has started to recover from the crisis, Gerald Grohmann, CEO of Schoeller-Bleckmann, said at the Gewinn Messe. The company targets further growth in the oilfield sector and also via acquisitions, he added.
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Real estate company Immofinanz plans to relaunch paying dividends as of the current fiscal year, CEO Eduard Zehetner said at the Gewinn Messe. The company envisages EUR 0.10 per share as long as it manages to refinance an existing bond.
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Utility Verbund said it has closed its biggest investment of EUR 550m in Turkey, together with local partner Sabanci. Thus, the company opened officially the gas steam power plant Bandirma with a capacity of 920 MW on October 22.
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The return of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska as a shareholder of Strabag is fixed, the latter's CEO told Oberösterreichische Nachrichten. The stake will be bought back not only by cash by also via shares of Deripaska's own companies.
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Austria's production index for industry and construction rose 1.3% month-on-month in August 2010, Statistik Austria reported. On an annual comparison the index grew 8.2%.