Austrian economic news in a flash - November 16

Fibre producer Lenzing said its net profit soared to EUR 128m for the first three quarters of 2010 from EUR 30.6m a year earlier. Sales grew to EUR 1.29bn from EUR 885m. The results were mainly boosted by the celluloise fibre production.
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Cardboard maker Mayr-Melnhof said its first three quarter sales in 2010 rose 10.9% to EUR 1.32bn. The net profit went up 3.6% to EUR 83.2m. The company predicts good utilisation at its two core divisions by the end of 2010.
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Rubber specialist Semperit AG said its net profit increased 14.2% to EUR 34.3m in the first nine months of 2010. Sales grew 17.3% to EUR 519.3m. In view of the good order backlog, the firm expects a satisfactory development in terms of sales and earnings by the end of 2010.
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Machinery group Binder + Co AG said its sales decreased 15% to EUR 40.71m in the first three quarters of 2010. EBIT went down 14% to EUR 4.08m. The order intake collapsed by 50% for the period.
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Austria's annual inflation rate grew to 2% in Octover from 1.9% in September, boosted by higher fuel prices. Prices went up 0.2% in monthly terms.The EU-harmonised price consumer index increased to 1.9% from 1.7%.
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Oberbank said its operating profit grew 23.6% to EUR 176m in the first nine months of 2010. The results brought the bank to its pre-crisis business levels, it said. The firm plans to continue its branch expansion in 2011.
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Steel specialist Voestalpine has agreed on the set-up of a joint venture with Al-Mobty which will operate a plant in the Gulf region. Initially around EUR 3m will be invested in the site, which will produce railway tracks in Saudi Arabia.
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AutoBank has placed 1.89m shares and will start trading on the Entry Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as of November 19. Proceeds from the transaction stood at EUR 4.725m.