Austrian economic news in a flash - December 16

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Utility EVN said its net profit grew 16.3% to EUR 207m in fiscal 2009/10, with sales going up 0.9% to EUR 2.752bn. The results were boosted by higher energy sales and improved proceeds from the firm's shareholdings. EVN will pay a dividend of EUR 0.40 per share, up from EUR 0.37 last year. The utility plans to continue its attractive dividend policy and focus on value-orientated growth in 2010/11.
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PC game developer JoWooD said it posted an operating loss of EUR 14.304m for the first nine months of 2010, compared to a profit to EUR 1.655m a year earlier. Sales collapsed to EUR 8.163m from EUR 18.627m. JoWooD added it was currently talking to potential investors over the receiving of fresh capital.
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Austria's annual inflation rate decreased to 1.9% in November from 2.1% a month earlier. In a monthly comparison, the prices fell 0.1%, Statistik Austria said. The eurozone harmonised CPI came in at 1.8%.
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The sales of Siemens Austria fell by around 20% to EUR 2.4bn in fiscal 2009/10 due to the worsened economic conditions. The order volume, however, grew 14% to EUR 2.5bn, showing signs of recovery, the company said.
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IT company Beko Holding AG said its net loss grew to EUR 11m in fiscal 2009/10, from EUR 9.4m a year earlier. Sales decreased 15% to EUR 230.4m. The past year was characterised by dealing with the effects from the financial crisis, the firm said. Beko plans to focus on its core competences and on simplifying its structures in 2010/11.
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The number of unemployed in Austria stood at 190,000 in the third quarter of 2010, down by 30,900 compared to a year earlier, Statistik Austria. This corresponded to an unemployment rate of 4.4%, a decrease from 5.1% in the same period of 2009.