Top news from Polish politics, economy, business & financial markets - 17:00
Following is a digest of the day's top news as compiled by PAP Market Insider.
BUSINESS & EQUITY MARKET NEWS
FUELS / ORLEN - Listed fuels concern Orlen will recognise PLN 10.2 billion (EUR 2.34 bln) of impairment charges, revaluing fixed assets and assets under construction, in the group's financial statements for 2023, following impairment testing of the group's assets in the petrochemicals segment, the company said in a market filing.
IT / ASSECO - Listed IT group Asseco Poland's consolidated order backlog for 2024, in the area of software and proprietary services, is now worth more than PLN 10.2 billion (EUR 2.34 bln), the company said in a press release.
CONSTRUCTION / ERBUD - Listed builder Erbud's portfolio of external orders amounted to PLN 2.4 billion (EUR 556.1 mln) at the end of December 2023 versus PLN 2.55 billion (EUR 590.8 mln) at the end of 2022, Erbud said in a presentation following company's annual report.
BANKING / mBANK - Listed lender mBank's legal risk costs related to foreign currency loans recognised in the first quarter of 2024 amounted to PLN 1.058 billion (EUR 244.9 mln). The preliminary net result for the period will be positive, the bank said in a market filing.
PARCEL / INPOST - Amsterdam-listed parcel locker operator InPost's adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2023 increased year on year by 44.5 percent to PLN 846.3 million (EUR 196.1 mln), exceeding PAP Biznes consensus estimates for PLN 830.4 million (EUR 192.4 mln).
IT / ASSECO - Listed IT group Asseco Poland's supervisory board has given a positive opinion on the management board's proposal to pay a PLN 3.66 (EUR 0.85) apiece dividend for 2023, the company said in a release. A total of PLN 249.6 million (EUR 57.8 mln) is to be distributed.
PHARMA / SELIVTA - Pharma firm Selvita's backlog for 2024 is approximately PLN 197 million (EUR 45.6 mln), down from PLN 204 million (EUR 47.2 mln) a year earlier, Selvita said in a report.
IT / ASSECO - Listed IT group Asseco Poland posted PLN 138.6 million (EUR 32.1 mln) in attributable net profit in the fourth quarter of 2023, in line with the earlier estimates, the company's annual financial report showed.
PENSION FUNDS - Poland's social insurer ZUS transferred to private pension funds OFE around PLN 222.95 million (EUR 51.7 mln) this week, ZUS reported on Thursday.
RAILWAY / NEWAG - Listed rolling stock producer Newag has concluded five individual contracts with Rail Capital Partners for the sale of five electric locomotives together with maintenance contracts for ten years. The company estimates the value of the contracts at PLN 100.8 million (EUR 23.3 mln) net, Newag said in a market filing.
INSURANCE / PZU - Listed insurance group PZU's supervisory board has entrusted Artur Olech as company's CEO, subject to the approval of the Poland's financial watchdog KNF, PZU said in a press release. Bartosz Grzeskowiak, Elzbieta Häuser-Schöneich and Jan Zimowicz have been appointed as members of the board.
CONSTRUCTION / ONDE - Listed builder Onde, the unit of another builder Erbud, had a backlog of PLN 673 million (EUR 155.9 mln) at the end of December 2023, resulting from orders from external parties, down 25.3 percent year on year, the company said in the annual report.
CONSTRUCTION / MLP - Listed construction firm MLP Group wants to generate EUR 112-132 million EBITDA excluding revaluations in 2028, the company said in its updated strategy on Thursday. MLP also wants to double its net asset value per share to around EUR 48-56 million in 2028.
CONSTRUCTION / MIRBUD - Listed builder Mirbud's offer has been selected as the most favourable in the public procurement procedure of Strykow Municipality for the construction of the Strykow Development Centre, the company said in a market filing on Thursday. The contract's value without the option right is PLN 80.4 million (EUR 18.6 mln) gross, and the total value with the option right amounts to PLN 166.7 million (EUR 38.6 mln).
CONSTRUCTION / ARCHICOM - Listed developer Archicom's subsidiary, Archicom Warszawa 2, has entered into a preliminary agreement to purchase real estate in Warsaw at 18A and 18B Postepu Street and 41 Domaniewska Street from MBP I for EUR 28.5 million, the developer said in a press release.
MINT / MENNICA POLSKA - Listed mint Mennica Polska's management board recommends PLN 25.54 million (EUR 5.92 mln) or PLN 0.5 (EUR 0.12) dividend payout for 2023, the mint said in a release.
CONSTRUCTION / ONDE - Management board of listed builder Onde, the unit of another builder, Erbud, is recommending to the general meeting to allocate PLN 16.9 million (EUR 3.9 mln) or PLN 0.31 (EUR 0.07) per share from the 2023 profit to the payment of a dividend, the company said in a press release.
AUTOMOTIVE / AUTO PARTNER - Listed car parts distributor Auto Partner's board recommends a dividend payout in the total amount of PLN 19.6 million (EUR 4.5 mln), or PLN 0.15 (EUR 0.035) per share, the company said in a press release.
ENERGY / ENEA - Listed power utility Enea reduces the demand for coal sourced from listed coal mining group Bogdanka by approximately 934,000 tonnes compared to the values resulting from the minimum volumes in force for the current year, Bogdanka said in a release on Thursday, adding that this may affect the company's production plan in 2024.
RETAIL / BIEDRONKA - Poland's largest retail chain Biedronka, owned by Portuguese Jeronimo Martins, will not change the regular prices of more than 4,000 products in April, not only those subject to a VAT rate of 5 percent, the company said in a press release on Thursday.
PARCEL / INPOST - Amsterdam-listed parcel locker operator InPost expects to be profitable on an adjusted EBITDA level in all its key markets, namely Poland, France, the UK and Italy, in 2024, the company said in a market filing.
RAILWAY / PKP CARGO - Listed rail hauler PKP Cargo suffered a market share decline in February 2024 volume-wise to 28.97 pct from 34.32 pct in the prior year period, rail transport authority UTK said in a report.
PARCEL / INPOST- Amsterdam-listed parcel locker operator InPost expects volume growth of dozen percent in Poland in 2024 with around 10 percent growth in the e-commerce market in volume terms, InPost's CFO Adam Aleksandrowicz told conference call with the media on Thursday.
REAL ESTATE / ECHO INVESTMENT - Listed commercial real estate developer Echo Investment, which intends to develop student housing projects in Poland together with Signal Capital Partners and Griffin Capital Partners, assumes that the first dormitories could be ready by the end of next year, management representatives said during a video conference.
REAL ESTATE / ECHO INVESTMENT - Listed commercial real estate developer Echo Investment has a positive outlook on the office market. It predicts that activity in the investment market will increase in the second half of the year, management representatives said during a video conference.
PARCEL / INPOST - Amsterdam-listed parcel locker operator InPost is not planning a dividend payout in the foreseeable future, InPost CFO Adam Aleksandrowicz said during a conference call with analysts.
REAL ESTATE / MURAPOL - Real estate developer Murapol is introducing 1,860 new units to its offer as part of six projects in Lodz, Wroclaw, Poznan, Sosnowiec, Gliwice and Lublin, the company said in a press release.
CONSTRUCTION / ERBUD - Listed builder Erbud has a filled order backlog that gives it the possibility to go through 2024 on satisfactory margins, management representatives assessed during a video conference. The board expects a slight increase in volume construction in Poland and an increase in the prices of construction materials and subcontractor services.
CONSTRUCTION / ONDE - Wind and PV farm builder Onde, unit of construction group Erbud wants to double its development portfolio in the coming years, i.e. to have a portfolio of projects with a capacity of around 1,600 MW, board representatives said during a video conference.
BANKING / PEKAO - Listed lender Pekao Bank Hipoteczny management board has decided to implement an individual recovery plan, the bank said in a market filing.
BANKING / BANK POCZTOWY - Listed lender Bank Pocztowy's management board has decided to complete the corrective actions on capital adequacy, the bank said in a market filing.
PARCEL / POINTBACK - E-commerce delivery technology company Pointpack has decided to start a project to launch the manufacturing of parcel lockers, Pointpack announced in a market filing.
FINANCIAL MARKETS
FX - The Polish zloty stayed flat at 4.30 against the euro on Thursday at 16:50 local time. According to analysts, throughout the first quarter, changes in the EUR/PLN and USD/PLN exchange rates were small and the Polish currency consolidated, despite the unfavourable macroeconomic environment. This demonstrates the strength of the PLN, which is likely to continue further strengthening towards 4.20 per euro.
ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL NEWS
BUSINESSS CYCLE INDICATOR - Poland's leading business cycle indicator WWK, which provides advance information on future trends in the economy, stayed flat mont on month and is 160.9 in March, as measured by researcher BIEC.
INFLATION - Poland's CPI in 2025 is seen at 4.1 percent, with a forecast distribution of 3.0-5.4 percent, and in 2026 CPI in Poland is seen at 3.4 percent (distribution 2.1-4.7 percent), according to economists surveyed by Poland's central bank NBP. The economists expect a GDP growth rate of 3.6 percent in 2025 and 3.4 percent in 2026.
TAXES - The price war between grocers operating in Poland may partially offset the return of the VAT rate on food, said MPC member Ludwik Kotecki on Polish Radio Programme One.
WARSAW STOCK EXCHANGE - Foreign investors accounted for the largest share of turnover on the Warsaw Stock Exchange main market in 2023, generating 65 percent of share turnover, the highest level ever recorded, WSE said in a press release on Thursday.
EXPORT - Poland is one of the largest exporters of chocolate in the European Union, exporting 115,000 tonnes or 13 percent of the total amount, according to the EU stats office Eurostat.
CPI - Poland has likely recorded a 2.1 percent annual increase in consumer prices in March and 0.4 percent increase month on month, the PAP consensus survey has shown.
UNEMPLOYMENT - Polish registered unemployment rate in March has likely amounted to 5.3 percent, down from at 5.4 percent in February, according to the PAP Biznes consensus survey.
POLITICAL & GOVERNMENT NEWS
ENERGY PRICES - Poland's Ministry of Climate and Environment (MKiS) plans to present a package of laws tied to energy prices and will propose new tariffs after Easter, the minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska told Polsat News.
ENERGY PRICES - Protective measures for income-sensitive households and heat consumers covered with the highest tariffs contracted during energy crisis should be passed in the Lower House in May at the latest, Deputy Climate and Environment Minister Urszula Zielinska told PAP Biznes. These could be included in a draft dedicated for electricity consumers.
TAXES -The draft concerning changes to the capital gains tax in Poland is in internal arrangements, Deputy Finance Minister Jaroslaw Neneman announced in response to an MP's interpellation.
nl/ han/
