Austrian economic news in a flash - November 19

Fire fighting vehicles maker Rosenbauer said it raised its net profit 28.2% to EUR 25m in the first nine months of 2010. EBIT grew 22.4% to EUR 33.3m. Sales went up 12.5% to EUR 374.4m and the company said it projects sales of above EUR 600m for full 2010, as well as a record-high EBIT result.
*
Fibre producer Lenzing AG plans to carry out a share split at a one-to-seven ratio and has invited its shareholders to vote on the move on December 10. 
*
Wiener AutoBank AG has started trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with an initial share price of EUR 2.50, which corresponded to the share's set issue price. With the proceeds from the IPO, the company aims to boost its equity basis.
*
OMV wants to make Turkey its third business hub, CEO Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer said. Therefore, currently there are talks over the company's participation in the planned Ceyhan refinery in southern Turkey. The country is to act as a bridge towards northern Iraq and the Caspian region, the CEO added.
*
The talks for the sale of AE&E, a subsidiary of insolvent A-Tec, to Hong Kong-based Mass Financial Corp have collapsed, Wiener Zeitung reported. The reason for the withdrawal of MFC was the lack of time for a detailed review at the situation at AE&E. Furthermore, it became clear that the discussions with Austrian investor Ronny Pecik and the Christof group have also fallen through. However, A-Tec's creditor committee is still confident that there would be a solution securing the group's future.
*
TUI Austria has completed the takeover of GEO Reisen, based in Salzburg, in a move to boost its sales network in the country.
*
Bank für Tirol und Vorarlber, or BTV, said its pretax profit for the first three quarters of 2010 rose 12.5% to EUR 47.7m, while the result of Bank für Kärnten und Steiermark, or BKS, grew 12.2% to EUR 35.8m. The two banks are part of the 3-Banken-Gruppe.
*
The food production business of Austrian renowned firm Meinl will most probably be transferred to a foreign country, Trend magazine reported. The jam production will be relocated to Trentino-Alto Adige, while the coffee production may be also transferred to Italy, Marcel Löffler, CEO of Julius Meinl Industrieholding, said. He, however, rejected that the company was in need of a capital injection of some EUR 40m to EUR 50m.
*
Austria's industrial production index rose 3.3% year-on-year in September 2010, boosted by the prices of intermediate goods, Statistik Austria reported. In a monthly comparison, the index grew 0.3%.