Austrian Economic News - Week 14 - 20 May

Monday

 

IT company Quanmax said its Q1 net profit soared to EUR 2.9m from EUR 1m last year. Sales increased to EUR 78.1m from EUR 21m boosted by the takeover of S&T. Quanmax expects sales of EUR 330m and a net profit of at least EUR 10m for 2012.

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Ottakringer said its beer sales decreased by 8.9% to EUR 19.8m in the first three months of the year. The company however expects positive impact from the initiated brand relaunch strategy for the entire year. Mineral water sales stagnated in the first quarter at EUR 44.3m.

Tuesday

Austrian refractory material maker RHI said its Q1 sales grew 5.6% to EUR 436.9m. Net profit rose to EUR 32m from EUR 18.3m. The company sees higher EBIT margin for full 2012 than for 2011.

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Rubber specialist Semperit AG Holding said it closed the first quarter of the year with a net profit of EUR 11.6m, up 3.3% year-on-year. Sales increased 4.2% to EUR 201.8m. The management sees improvement in the economic conditions by the end of the year.

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Sugar group Agrana said its net profit soared 78.8% to EUR 155.7m in fiscal 2011/12 thanks to good market positions and cost savings. Sales went up 19% to EUR 2.57bn. Dividend payment will be raised to EUR 3.6 apiece from EUR 2.4 a year earlier. The company however projects a slightly lower net profit and higher sales for 2012/13.
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Cardboard maker Mayr-Melnhof announced that its net profit decreased 19.5% to EUR 28.5m. Sales remained stable at EUR 494.9m. The previous quarter was hit by storage cuts on behalf of clients and season-related delay in order intake.
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Office furniture maker Bene said its pretax loss lowered to EUR 0.8m in fiscal 2011/12 from EUR 11.3m a year earlier. Sales increased 13.5% to EUR 193.9m. The company is optimistic for 2012/13 but will not pay dividend for the previous fiscal year.

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IT services provider Brain Force said its net loss widened to EUR 2.27m in the first half of fiscal 2011/12 from EUR 1.55m a year earlier. Sales improved 12% to EUR 37.9m. For the full fiscal year the management targets further growth in sales and improvement in operating earnings.
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Christian Baha is offering EUR 0.99 per share as a cash compensation for the delisting of software company TeleTrader. Baha controls directly 5% in TeleTrader, while his private foundation owns 60.85%.
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Steel group Voestalpine had secured some EUR 400m as financing via the issue of promissory notes. The proceeds will be used for diverse financing needs.

Wednesday

Österreichische Post AG said its first-quarter sales increased 6% to EUR 605.7m. The company's EBITDA went up 7% to EUR 75.8m. CEO Georg Pölzl sees stable or slightly positive development for full 2012. The company will retain its current dividend policy.

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Austria's fire fighting vehicle maker Rosenbauer said its net profit decreased 28% on the year to EUR 3.8m in the first three months of the year. Sales increased however to EUR 115.6m from EUR 107.3m. The company referred to internal costs for launching of new production capacities. Sales should grow to EUR 600m for full 2012.

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Austria's annual inflation rate decreased to 2.3% in April from 2.4% in March and 2.6% in February, reaching its lowest level since December 2010. On a monthly comparison, prices went up 0.4%. The euro-zone HCPI came in also at 2.3%.

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Online bookmaker bwin.party boosted its first-quarter revenue by 1% to EUR 215.9m. The company said it would further focus on the German market.

Thursday - Public Holiday

Friday

Insolvent Technoplast Kunststofftechnik, previously a subsidiary of car parts supplier HTI High Tech Industries, may have a new owner, Oberösterreichische Nachrichten reported. The owner is a lawyer from the region of Mühlviertel, the paper wrote.