Austria's top economic news - March 22

Rubber specialist Semperit will propose a dividend of EUR 1.25 per share for 2010, up from EUR 1.15 for 2009. The company also confirmed its 2010 preliminary financial results.
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Real estate company Immofinanz said it has completed its current share buyback programme ahead of schedule. During the programme the company bought above 47m of its own shares at an average price of EUR 3.08 each.
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Real estate company ECO Business posted EBIT of EUR 29.4m for 2010, up from EUR 12.4m for 2009. ECO booked a profit of EUR 9.1m from portfolio divestments, compared to a loss of EUR 6.9m for 2009. ECO plans to focus on its core markets in Austria and Germany in 2011, with acquisitions also intended.
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UBM, the real estate company of builder Porr, will raise its 2010 dividend to EUR 1.10 from EUR 1 for 2009. UBM's construction output decreased to EUR 217m from EUR 275.4m. EBIT grew 5.7% to EUR 25.8m. The company projects a recovery in the German, Polish and Czech markets for 2011, with the Netherlands targeted as a new market.
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OMV will launch a squeeze-out for the minority shareholders of Turkish Petrol Ofisi. The outstanding shares in the company account for 3.02% of its capital. OMV will offer EUR3.15 per share and then delist Petrol Ofisi.
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Austria's Industrial Producer Price Index stood at 102.3 points in January 2011, up 5% year-on-year, Statistik Austria said.