Business briefs
Brewer of Pilsner Urquell to pay out $80m in dividends; Half-year results boost PSE trading to near record high; Bank consortium named in CSA purchase of 12 Airbuses; CSA takes over sponsorship of FK Slavia from Carrefour; CNB sees unchanged interest rates over next few quarters, increased inflation and growth; Electrical engineering sector now Czech Republic's biggest industry; June saw average mortgage rates drop to 3.75 percent
Brewer of Pilsner Urquell to pay out $80m in dividends
The brewery that makes the best-selling Czech export Pilsner Urquell has announced it will pay out nearly 1.96 billion crowns, or $80 million, in dividends this year on profits of roughly $120 million as of the fiscal half year ending in March. Plzensky Prazdroj, which is controlled by the world's second-largest brewery, SAB Miller, said each shareholder will get 100 percent of the nominal value of their shares in dividends.
Half-year results boost PSE trading to near record high
Half-year results were behind near record-high trading on the Prague Stock Exchange. The headline PX 50 index rose to 1,258.2 points early in the week, a mark it surpassed only once since it was introduced 11 years ago. Stock in the power utility CEZ was the most hotly traded, gaining thanks to foreign investors' orders to buy pending the release of the company's first-half results on Monday. The Czech bank Komercni banka also rose on expectations of good first-half results due out on Friday.
Bank consortium named in CSA purchase of 12 Airbuses
A consortium of three banks has won the tender launched to raise funds for state carrier Czech Airlines purchase of 12 new medium-range planes. Czech Airlines, or CSA, now has over 50 planes and flies to as many countries. The state carrier said it would finance the purchase of the new Airbus jets, valued at some $476 million, through a 12-year leasing contract supplied by the banking consortium. The three banks are CSOB, BNP Paribas and Natexis Banques Populaires.
CSA takes over sponsorship of FK Slavia from Carrefour
Meanwhile, Czech Airlines has signed on as the main sponsor for the football club Slavia. The airline reportedly will give the club 3 million crowns and provide the team with free flights to matches. The former lead Slavia sponsor was the French hypermarket group Carrefour, which spent some 30 million crowns per year on the team.
CNB sees unchanged interest rates over next few quarters, increased inflation and growth
The vice governor of the Czech National Bank, Ludek Niedermayer, said following a board meeting of the central bank on Thursday that interest rates should remain unchanged over the next several quarters. The board also raised its one-year inflation forecast, from a high of 2.7 percent to 3.5 percent this year. Forecasted growth could reach 5.1 percent in 2006.
Electrical engineering sector now Czech Republic's biggest industry
Meanwhile, new figures show that electrical engineering has now become the Czech Republic's biggest industry - overtaking the country's traditional industrial sectors of steel production and engineering. Turnover in electrical engineering - which covers everything from computers to components for the car industry - has more than doubled since 2000, thanks largely to an influx of foreign multinationals. A total of 23 electronics plants have been built in the Czech Republic since 2000. Annual turnover in the sector has reached $17 billion.
June saw average mortgage rates drop to 3.75 percent
