Austria's top economic news - March 31

Technology group Andritz said it will start on April 6 a share buyback programme. The move, which envisages the acquisition of no more than 10% of the stock capital, will probably run until September 30.
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BDI BioEnergy International AG reported a net profit of EUR 3.4m for 2010, up from EUR 2.5m for 2009. Sales rose to EUR 39.9m from EUR 33.9m. The company plans further growth in 2011, especially in the field of waste to energy.
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Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) said its net profit rose 13.6% to EUR 413.3m in 2010 based on final figures. The consolidated premium income grew 7.2% to EUR 8.593bn. The combined ratio worsened to 98.4% but is to fall to 97% in 2011. VIG's pretax profit is expected to grow by 10% this year. The company will propose a dividend of EUR 1 for 2010, up from EUR 0.90 for 2009.
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Notebook maker Quanmax AG said its 2010 sales grew 30% to EUR 80.7m, while the net profit rose to EUR 4m from EUR 3.3m. The company expects to cross the EUR 100m mark in terms of sales this year.
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Insurer Uniqa reported a pretax profit of EUR 150m for 2010. The company will propose a dividend of EUR 0.40 per share for 2010.
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Technology group Binder+Co approved a dividend of EUR 1 per share for 2010.
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Gerhard Roiss, the newly-appointed CEO of OMV, plans to revamp the company's strategy. The rework of the strategy will focus on three sectors - regional concentration, portfolio development and future challenges. Furthermore, the importance of the Gas & Power (G&P) activities will be raised.
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Austrian online bookmaker Bwin, set up in 1997, ceased to exist as of March 31. The company will now operate as Bwin.party digital entertainment after the merger with UK PartyGaming. The new entity is listed in London.
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Oberbank plans to take a stake of 5% plus one share in the forthcoming IPO of aluminium group AMAG. The stake is estimated at around EUR 40m.
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BKS Bank generated a profit of EUR 3.9m in Slovenia last year, while the results in Croatia stood at a zero profit. As a whole, the bank booked a net profit of EUR 46.4m for 2010.
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Software company Plaut has confirmed its 2010 preliminary results. Its net profit grew to EUR 4.79m from EUR 4m for 2010.
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Sanochemia Pharmazeutika AG said it plans to issue above 5m new shares at EUR 3.20 apiece. The capital hike will result in proceeds of EUR 16.25m. The subscription period will run between April 1 and 15.
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Oberbank closed 2010 with a record-high operating profit of EUR 218.3m, up 19.4%. The net result grew 27.2% to EUR 98.4m. The bank plans to continue its expansion in 2011.
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Frauenthal booked a net profit of EUR 17.4m for 2010, compared to a loss of EUR 29.4m a year earlier. Sales rose 19% to EUR 539.4m. The company will propose the payment of a dividend of EUR 0.1 per share, plus a bonus of EUR 0.2.
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Century Casinos said its 2010 net gaming revenue grew 22% to USD60.7m. EBITDA remained stable at USD 7.9m.
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Austria's Maastricht Deficit stood at 4.6% in 2010, an increase of 0.5% percentage points, Statistik Austria reported. The country's debt came in at 72.3% of the GDP, up 2.7 percentage points.
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The volume of freight transport on the Austrian section of the Danube rose 18.6% on the year to 11.1m tonnes in 2010, Statistik Austria said.