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WTC International N.V. said it
has sold its affiliates in South Africa to an independent
trust, created to continue the operations in that country.
The purchase price was about 8.4 mln dlrs, represented by a
ten-year interest-bearing note, payable annually at 11 pct, to
be paid by the trust out of proceeds from the South African
operations, the company said.
WTC said its board concluded in view of the social,
political and economic situatin in South Africa, it was best to
separate the company from its interests there.
Reuter
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New Zealand's current account deficit
narrowed to 180 mln N.Z. Dlrs in January from 203 mln, revised
from 207 mln, in December and 305 mln in January 1986, in a
smoothed measurement, the Statistics Department said.
Unsmoothed figures show a deficit of 162 mln dlrs for
January against 107 mln, revised from 75 mln for December 1986
and 575 mln in January 1986.
The smoothed series -- adjusted to iron out random
fluctuations -- shows a widening surplus on merchandise trade
to 46 mln from a surplus of 33 mln, revised from 43 mln dlrs in
December and a 71 mln deficit in the a year ago period.
Exports were 905 mln dlrs against 929 mln, revised from 971
mln in December and 816 mln a year earlier, while imports fell
to 858 mln from 895 mln, revised from 928 mln in December and
888 mln in January 1986.
Unadjusted merchandise figures show a surplus of 53 mln
dlrs vs 141 mln, revised from 203 mln surplus in December 1986
and a 323 mln deficit a year earlier.
The deficit on invisibles on unsmoothed figures eased to
215 mln dlrs from 248 mln, revised from 277 mln in December and
252 mln in January 1986.
The smoothed deficit on invisibles fell to 226 mln from 237
mln, revised from 250 mln in December and 234 mln in the year
ago period.
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Abnormally warm and dry weather over most
parts of China is seriously affecting crops, the New China News
Agency said.
It said the drought has made rice planting difficult in
eight provinces, including Guangxi, Sichuan and Hunan. Plant
diseases and insect pests have increased in wheat-producing
areas, it said.
The agency said some areas of Guangxi, Hubei, Shanxi and
other provinces have been suffering a drought for more than
seven months.
The agency said the dry weather had reduced the amount of
water stored by more than 20 pct compared with last March,
lowered the water level of many rivers, reduced hydroelectric
power supplies and caused water shortages for industry and
consumers.
The upper reaches of the Yangtze are at their lowest levels
in a century, causing many ships to run aground and making
harbour manoeuvres difficult, it said.
The drought has also increased the number of forest fires.
More than 1,000 fires in southern China had destroyed 13,340
hectares of forest by mid-February, it said.
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Taiwan's state-owned China Shipbuilding
Corp (CSBC) plans to seek joint production agreements with
Japan and further diversify into ship repairing to try to trim
its debts, chairman Louis Lo said.
He told Reuters in an interview that CSBC's first joint
production venture, to build two hulls for <Onomichi Dockyard
Co Ltd>, was a success. Talks on similar projects have been
held with other Japanese firms, including Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries Co Ltd <MITH.T> and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy
Industries Co Ltd <JIMA.T>, he said.
Lo said CSBC delivered the hulls of two 2,200-TEU (twenty
foot equivalent unit) container ships this year to Onomichi,
which would complete production.
"We expect the successful cooperation between us and
Onomichi will pave the way for further cooperation with other
Japanese shipbuilders in the future," Lo said.
He said Japanese firms would gain from the lower cost of
shipbuilding in Taiwan while CSBC would benefit from Japanese
technology and marketing. This would pose a challenge to
competitors in Europe and South Korea.
Lo said CSBC has made losses of about 100 mln U.S. Dlrs
since beginning operations in 1975. Its total debt now stands
at about 500 mln dlrs, with annual interest payments of nearly
three mln dlrs.
But he said the company, which is Taiwan's largest
shipbuilder, still has full government support and had begun
diversifying into ship repairing and manufacture of pipes and
other machinery.
"We hope we can survive and prosper through diversification,"
he said.
Lo said income from ship repairing almost doubled to 20 mln
U.S. Dlrs in the year ended June 1986 compared with the
previous financial year. He estimated income would rise to more
than 25 mln dlrs in 1986/87.
CSBC has orders to build 10 ships totalling 460,000 dead
weight tons (dwt) this financial year, compared with 11 ships
of 462,000 dwt in 1985/86, he said.
Lo said the prospects for shipbuilding were gloomy at least
until 1991 due to overtonnage, but the outlook for ship
repairing was bright.
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A group of creditor banks hopes to work
out a rescue package for Japan Line Ltd <JLIT.T>, one of the
world's largest tanker operators, by the end of Japan's
business year on March 31, a spokesman for the Industrial Bank
of Japan Ltd <IBJT.T> (IBJ) said.
Japan Line's cumulative debt was 68.98 billion yen at the
end of September, which exceeded shareholders' equities and
reserves totalling 63.40 billion.
In December, Japan Line asked banks to shelve repayment of
about 124 billion yen in outstanding loans and about 153
billion in loans to its subsidiaries.
Japan Line said then that the yen's steep rise and the
world shipping recession had hit the company hard.
The Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun said today that IBJ and
three other banks plan to abandon a total of 16 billion yen in
loans to Japan Line and a group of creditor banks plans to buy
seven billion yen of new Japan Line shares.
The spokesman for IBJ, Japan Line's largest creditor, said
the package may write off part of the outstanding loans and
will be worked out before long.
Commenting on the article, he said the details of the
package have not yet been settled.
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Australian wheat shipments rose to
1.33 mln tonnes in February from 1.01 mln in January, an
Australian Wheat Board official said.
February's shipments were down on the 1.54 mln tonnes
shipped in February 1986.
Cumulative shipments for the first five months of the
October/September wheat year were 6.12 mln tonnes, as against
6.54 mln a year earlier, the official said.
The major destinations in February were: China (419,196
tonnes), Egypt (301,909), Iraq (142,055), Japan (110,261),
South Korea (100,847) and the Soviet Union (100,056 tonnes).
REUTER
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OPEC countries are all sticking firmly to
official crude oil prices but the volatility of spot prices is
likely to continue into the third quarter, Indonesian Minister
of Mines and Energy Subroto told Reuters.
Subroto, attending a Pacific Energy Cooperation conference,
blamed recent rapid spot price changes on unbalanced supply and
demand. "If we stick to the production limitation, the third
quarter will be in better balance."
He said the market is in a period of transition while the
impact of OPEC's December agreement to cut output and fix
prices at an average 18 dlrs a barrel is worked through.
Asked whether OPEC members of the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) had any concrete proposals to help Qatar sell its crude
oil in the face of strong resistance to its official prices,
Subroto said: "Apparently they have taken care of that."
"They (the GCC) meet very often among themselves. I think
they'll help each other," he said.
Subroto said that as he was not a member of OPEC's Price
Differentials Committee he did not know why the meeting had
been postponed from its scheduled April 2 date.
"Maybe they find it is better not to have the meeting
because ... Everyone is sticking to official prices," he said.
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Thailand's main paddy crop is expected
to fall to 15.4 mln tonnes in the 1986/87 (Nov/Oct) season from
a previous 15.68 mln estimate in November and an actual 17.35
mln a year ago, the Thai Rice Mills Association said.
It said a joint field survey late last month by the
association, the Commerce Ministry and the Bank of Thailand
indicated that paddy output in Thailand's northeast region is
lower than expected because of a drought in several provinces.
The association said rice growing areas in Nakhon
Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum, Khon Kaen and Mahasarakam were
especially affected by low rainfalls in the second half of
1986.
It said last November that the drought reduced total
national areas sown with paddy to some 8.25 mln hectares this
year, down from 8.84 mln a year ago.
The main crop represents about 85 pct of Thailand's paddy
output.
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New Zealand clearing house <DataBank
Systems Ltd> said it will know tomorrow what services it will
be able to provide during a strike by bank officers against
trading banks and DataBank set for March 9 and 10.
Trading banks polled by Reuters said their ability to offer
money market services during the strike depends on whether
Databank remains open, and whether the banks have enough staff
to process transactions.
A spokesman for the New Zealand Foreign Exchange
Association said dealers would be able to trade during the
strike.
But the spokesman added that from March 6 to 10 the value
date of currency transactions will be March 16.
Trading bank spokesmen told Reuters they will try to honour
transactions in which an offshore party sought payment on March
9 or 10, but they could not guarantee settlement.
The Futures Exchange said trading members and their clients
will be able to continue trading provided they have made
suitable financial arrangements.
The trading banks affected are the <Bank of New Zealand>,
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd <ANZA.S>, Westpac
Banking Corp <WSTP.S> and <National Bank of New Zealand Ltd>.
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Hoechst AG <HFAG.F> said its group
pre-tax profit in 1986 would be slightly lower than the 3.16
billion marks posted in 1985, while parent company pre-tax
profits rose slightly from the 1.62 billion in 1985.
Group turnover fell slightly to 38 billion marks from 42.72
billion in 1985, and parent company turnover fell to around 14
billion marks from 15.35 billion, the company said in a
statement.
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The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp
<HKBH.HK> is likely to show a rise in profit of between 10 and
13 pct for 1986, reflecting stronger than expected loan growth,
share analysts polled by Reuters said.
Their estimates of the bank's net earnings for last year
ranged from 2.99 to 3.1 billion H.K. Dlrs. Results will be
announced on Tuesday. The 1985 net profit was 2.72 billion.
They forecast a final dividend of 29 cents for a total of
42 cents for the year against 38 cents in 1985, adjusted for a
one-for-five bonus issue.
Analysts said they expected the bank to recommend a bonus
issue this year, probably one for three or one for five.
The bank's 61.5 pct subsidiary Hang Seng Bank Ltd <HSGH.HK>
is to report its 1986 results on Friday.
Analysts expect Hang Seng to announce net profit of more
than one billion dlrs for the first time, an increase of 10 to
12 pct.
They expect Hang Seng to pay a final dividend of 1.37 dlrs
for a total of 1.75 dlrs for the year against 1.60 in 1985.
Analysts said that while the use of undisclosed inner
reserves by banks here makes forecasting very imprecise,
Hongkong Bank benefited from the unexpected strength of the
Hong Kong economy in 1986, when gross domestic product grew by
nearly nine pct against an initial forecast of 4.5 pct.
"They benefited considerably from the pickup in loan demand,
as their loan portfolio is well balanced," an analyst at Mansion
House Securities (F.E.) Ltd said.
Government figures show that total loans and advances rose
by 13.8 pct in 1986, compared with a 4.5 pct increase in 1985.
Loans to finance Hong Kong's visible trade, the mainstay of
the local economy, rose by 15.1 pct against a decline of five
pct in 1985.
Low interest rates also helped the bank. Interest received
on loans was low, with the prime rate at 6.5 pct at end-1986,
but interest paid on savings was two pct. Hongkong Bank and
Hang Seng Bank control half of all deposits in the banking
system, giving them access to a large base of low-cost funds.
The strength of the real-estate market was another major
income source for the bank group. Loans to finance property
development and instalment mortgages rose sharply.
"The Hongkong Bank group is still the leader in mortgage
business despite tough competition from the Bank of China group
and other foreign banks," one analyst said.
The high level of activity on the capital and equities
markets in 1986 contributed to a sharp improvement in Hongkong
Bank subsidiaries Wardley Ltd <WAIA.HK> and <James Capel and
Co>, analysts said. "Wardley had a tremendous year acting as
financial adviser and underwriter," an analyst said.
Wardley was underwriter for last year's billion-dlr
flotation of <Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd>, of which Hongkong
Bank owned 30 pct at the time.
The bank's stake has since been cut to 16.4 pct in return
for 1.57 billion dlrs. It also sold its entire 48.8 pct stake
in <South China Morning Post Ltd>, the larger of two
English-language daily newspapers here, for 1.18 billion dlrs.
The proceeds will go to reserves for acquisitions and will
not show up in the profit and loss accounts, analysts said.
Analysts said the bank had also been helped by a reduced
need to write off bad debts. "The need for provisions was much
lower than the year before," said Tony Measor of Hong Leong
Securities Co Ltd. "Last year's profits should have been 2.8 to
2.9 billion dlrs if not for the huge provisions."
Former Hongkong Bank chairman Michael Sandberg said the
bank wrote off hundreds of millions of dollars against its
shipping exposure in 1985. Lesley Nickolds of County Securities
Asia Ltd said she saw no major shipping writeoffs in 1986. She
forecast profit of 2.99 billion dlrs.
The bank's Latin American exposure, mainly through its
51-pct owned Marine Midland Banks Inc <MM>, appears to have
improved substantially, analysts said. Marine Midland's 1986
fourth-quarter loan-loss provisions fell to 44.1 mln U.S. Dlrs
from 89.2 mln a year before. Its 1986 net profit rose to 145
mln U.S. Dlrs from 125 mln in 1985.
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The directors of Hughes Tool Co
<HT> said they would recommend to shareholders that they reject
a merger with Baker International Corp <BKO> today.
Hughes vice-president Ike Kerridge said the recommendation
would be put to shareholders at a meeting scheduled for 10 A.M.
Local time (1600 GMT) to discuss the proposed merger.
Kerridge said the board met yesterday to discuss the merger
but decided against it.
The Hughes board objected to a U.S. Department of Justice
requirement that Baker sell off several specialised
subsidiaries in businesses related to oil-drilling.
The Hughes board last week indicated that it might cancel
the merger because of the Department of Justice requirement.
The board of directors of the California-based Baker had
approved the merger. On February 17 Baker said it had signed an
agreement to sell one of the subsidiaries.
The companies had been given until April 22 to comply with
the Justice Department requirement, Kerridge said.
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Group shr 18.34 yen vs 58.72
Net 10.73 billion yen vs 37.06 billion
Pretax 27.76 billion yen vs 84.78 billion
Operating 30.06 billion yen vs 88.81 billion
Sales 889.22 billion vs 955.78 billion
Note - The company attributed the profit fall largely to
the yen's appreciation during the period. Domestic sales rose
0.4 pct to 274.17 billion yen from a year earlier while exports
declined 9.9 pct to 615.04 billion.
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The highly visible drama involving the
yen's sharp rise against the U.S. Dollar is obscuring the fact
that the Japanese currency has hardly budged against major
European currencies, thus creating a new set of exchange rate
distortions, Japanese and European research officials said.
The officials, looking beneath the rhetoric of statements
by the Group of Five (G-5) industrial nations, told Reuters the
currency movements of the past two years are also creating a
fundamentally new world trade picture, which is throwing up new
trade tensions and imbalances.
Trade figures show that the new currency alignments are
already changing the Japan-U.S. Trade axis into a Japan-
European Community (EC) axis, to the discomfort of Europe.
In many ways, not least in terms of rare international
cooperation, the September, 1985 New York Plaza pact between
the U.S., Japan, West Germany, Britain and France to cut down
the value of the dollar was a historic one.
But it is the underlying peaks and troughs of the major
currency movements which lay bare the real picture, in which
the Plaza pact appears as an event of prime importance, but not
necessarily central significance, the officials said.
The officials said that when the Plaza agreement took
place, the dollar was already on its way down. The agreement
simply helped it on its way. Senior EC financial expert in
Tokyo Tomas de Hora has watched the movements closely.
"You have to look at the dollar's peak compared with now,
and that was well before Plaza," he said.
On February 25, 1985, the dollar peaked against the yen at
263.15 yen. On September 20, the Friday before Plaza, it was
242. Since then, despite massive Bank of Japan intervention and
periodic market frights about further G-5 concerted action, the
dollar trend has been down, down, down.
Yet the ECU is now around 173.4 yen. The historical cross
rates for sterling and the mark tell much the same story. The
European currencies are moving back up against the yen.
The close relationship between exchange rates and trade
flows makes it difficult to see which is driving which, but
undoubtedly the trade equation between the big three is
changing. In 1986, Japanese imports and exports with the EC
both grew by around 50 pct in dollar terms, five pct in yen.
This gave Japan a 16 billion dlr trade surplus.
Last January, Japanese exports to the EC totalled half of
of sales to the U.S, against about a third in recent years.
Trade with the U.S in 1986 rose 23 pct for exports and 12
pct for imports in dollar terms, but fell 13 pct for exports
and 21 pct for imports in yen terms.
"The basic meaning for Europe is that Japanese firms have a
tremendous interest in exporting to Europe, where every unit
sold maximises profits in yen terms, which is what is important
to them. Suddenly, instead of the U.S., It is Europe that is
laying the golden egg," said de Hora.
The EC is worried. EC business also had a remarkable year
in Japanese sales, but this can be explained partly due to its
start from a small base, compared with total Japan-U.S. Trade.
The Japanese think EC firms are now more competitive than
U.S. Firms, a factor which is aggravating the exchange rate
imbalance, and which will cause problems.
"This currency alignment between Japan and the EC is
reflecting the excellent performance of the EC countries. But
therefore, Japanese goods may keep their price competitive
edge," said Azusa Hayashi, Director of the First International
Economic Affairs Division of the Foreign Ministry. "If you want
my objective view, I don't expect a drastic improvement in our
trade imbalance. Last year, we asked for moderation in exports,
and this year we may have to do so again," he said.
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The Bank of England said it had invited
an early round of bill offers from the discount houses. The
Bank forecast the shortage in the system today at around 1.15
billion stg.
Among the main factors affecting liquidity, bills maturing
in official hands and the take-up of treasury bills will drain
some 732 mln stg and exchequer transactions some 245 mln. In
addition, bankers' balances below target and a rise in note
circulation will drain a further 135 mln stg and 30 mln stg
respectively.
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The Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union
(BLEU) moved into a narrow trade surplus of 4.7 billion francs
in 1986 after a 140.4 billion franc deficit in 1985, figures
given by a spokesman for the National Statistics Institute
show.
He said imports fell last year to 3,061.8 billion francs
from 3,304.1 in 1985 while exports were also lower at 3,066.6
billion francs against 3,163.7 billion.
In December, the BLEU had an 11.9 billion franc trade
surplus after a 10.9 billion franc surplus in November and a
2.3 billion franc surplus in December 1985.
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Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves hit a
new high of more than 51 billion U.S. Dlrs on March 4, compared
with 50 billion in mid-February and 25.1 billion a year
earlier, the central bank said.
Bank governor Chang Chi-Cheng told reporters the increase
came mainly from the bank's purchases of more than one billion
U.S. Dlrs on the local interbank market between February 18 and
March 4.
He said the rise showed signs of slowing, however, because
Taiwan has liberalised import policy and expects its trade
surplus to decline over the next few months as a result.
Chang declined to predict how high the reserves might rise,
but local economists have forecast they will hit 60 billion
U.S. Dlrs by the end of 1987.
In January, Taiwan reduced import tariffs of up to 50 pct
on some 1,700 foreign products. It had been under growing U.S.
Pressure to cut its 1986 record 13.6 billion dlr trade surplus
with the U.S. Taiwan's 1985 surplus with the U.S. Was 10.2
billion, according to official statistics.
Wang Chang-Ming, Vice Chairman of the Council for Economic
Planning and Development, told Reuters the government is
planning another round of deep tariff cuts in the second half
of this year.
The reserves could support imports of more than two years
for Taiwan, compared with about three months for Japan and the
U.S.
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The Bank of England said it provided just
17 mln stg assistance to the money market in response to an
early round of bill offers.
Earlier, the Bank had estimated the shortage in the system
today at around 1.15 billion stg.
The central bank purchased bills for resale to the market
on April 2 at an interest rate of 10-15/16 pct.
REUTER
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The Papua New Guinea Government
will establish a public corporation to invest in resources
projects, Minerals and Energy Minister John Kaputin said.
"We intend to provide a means through which less privileged
individuals can become part owners and beneficiaries from the
development of mining and petroleum projects," he told
Parliament.
Existing policy allowing the state up to 30 pct equity in
major mining projects and 22.5 pct in oil and gas projects
would be maintained, he said. The planned agency could take
over the state's equity in current developments.
Kaputin said Papua New Guinea was experiencing a boom with
exploration companies spending about 60 mln kina annually on
about 150 mining and 23 petroleum projects.
"The Government is determined to ensure that Papua New
Guinean ownership in minerals and petroleum projects increases
in an orderly way," he said.
Kaputin did not say when the corporation would be
established or exactly what form it would take, but said the
government would study whether it should be directly involved
in exploration or development.
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The Nigerian naira firmed 2.6 pct against
the dollar after 17 banks were disqualified from bidding at
today's weekly foreign exchange auction, the central bank said.
The naira finished at 3.8050 to the dollar, against 3.9050 last
week.
Only 38.39 mln dlrs of the 50 mln dlrs on offer was sold,
with all 27 bidding banks successfully obtaining hard currency.
The effective rate, including a central bank levy, for
transactions in the coming week, was 3.8241 against 3.9246 last
week.
The failure to sell the whole allocation was due to the
central bank's unprecedented disqualification of 17 banks as
punishment for inadequate documentation in previous
transactions.
Banks are required to submit proof that their bids are
based on valid commercial transactions and the central bank has
complained in the past that many are failing to produce the
right paperwork within the specified time.
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U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic
Affairs Allen Wallis said he had urged Japan to do much more to
reduce its large trade surplus with the United States.
"Our central message to Japan this week was that while we
have made progress in some areas, much needs to be done," he
told a press conference after three days of talks.
"What we need is a resolution of trade issues, we need
visible efforts to restructure the economy to encourage more
imports and we need greater domestic-led growth."
Forecasting sluggish economic growth in Japan this year,
Wallis urged Tokyo to stimulate domestic demand to help reduce
its trade surplus, which hit a record 83 billion dlrs in 1986.
He named several areas of particular concern to Washington
-- computer microchips, supercomputers, Kansai airport,
agricultural products and car telephones.
He warned that the U.S./Japan agreement governing trade in
semiconductors was in jeopardy. Despite the pact, Japanese
producers are still dumping microchips in foreign markets other
than the United States while U.S. Penetration of the Japanese
market has not increased, he said.
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The joint committee of Taiwan's maize
importers has awarded contracts to two U.S. Companies to supply
two shipments of maize, totalling 60,000 tonnes, a committee
spokesman told Reuters.
Continental Grain Co of New York received the first 30,000
tonne cargo contract, priced at 93.86 U.S. Dlrs per tonne,
while Peavey Co of Minneapolis won the second shipment, also
30,000 tonnes, at 93.36 dlrs per tonne.
Both shipments are c and f Taiwan and are set before March
16, the spokesman said.
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Poland says U.S. Sanctions have cost its
economy 15 billion dlrs and has made clear it wants Washington
to take a lead in repairing the damage after lifting remaining
restrictions two weeks ago.
Polish officials are unable to provide a precise breakdown
of the figure, saying it takes into account a number of
hypothetical losses. Some of them are "too sophisticated to
convert into financial terms," one banking source said.
But Western economic experts say the effect of sanctions is
impossible to calculate.
They say it is blurred by the poor performance of Poland's
economy, and dismiss the 15 billion dlr figure as illusory.
"Sanctions have provided a very useful excuse for under-
achieving. They did have a bad effect, yes, but they only
contributed to largely internal, economic problems," one said.
The U.S. Imposed the measures and withdrew Most Favoured
Nation (MFN) trading status from Poland in 1982 in retaliation
for suppression of the Solidarity free trade union under
martial law. The estimated cost to the Polish economy was
originally devised several years ago by the Institute of
National Economy, an offshoot of the central planning
commission.
According to one Western envoy, an expert on Polish
economic affairs, it extrapolated 1979 information on growth
trends in trade with the United States, as well as increases in
credits from Western commercial and government lenders.
But the calculations were based on a time when trade was
booming and credits still flowed freely, he said, dismissing
the estimate as "a theoretical projection based on a high point,
which has no real scientific evaluation."
A foreign trade ministry official said Polish exports to
the U.S. In the late 1970s averaged around 400 mln dlrs
annually and had fallen by half since the sanctions were
imposed.
Imports have suffered, slumping from around 800 mln dlrs to
200 mln, as credits ran out. Poland has a dwindling trade
surplus with the West. Last year it was one billion dlrs
against a targeted 1.6 billion, official figures show.
Acknowledging that sanctions have lost Poland important
U.S. Markets -- including agricultural equipment, textiles,
chemicals and some foodstuffs -- Western economists say credits
dried up for economic not political reasons. "Poland is
accusing the West of letting economic relations deteriorate for
political reasons," said one expert. "It's an illusion based on a
misunderstanding of Western economy."
"There's a limit to how much you can go on giving someone
who has no hope of repaying it," another said, adding that
Poland had benefited from a global phenomenon of easy credits
in the 1970s which were no longer today's reality.
Describing the 15 billion dlr assessment as "nebulous," one
diplomat said it also included losses of hypothetical orders
and setbacks to Polish research through the curbing of
scientific links and exchanges. Western officials say the
lifting of sanctions and new MFN status will have little impact
on Poland, which has a hard currency debt of 33.5 billion dlrs
and lacks the means to modernise its industry.
"MFN doesn't really mean anything, only that Poland will not
be treated worse than other countries. It will be difficult to
regain access to the U.S. Market because different forces are
in play now," said one Western envoy.
He said Polish products were not competitive, and their
quality was too low. Trade wars and possible protectionist
measures amongst the U.S., Japan and Europe would also hamper
Poland's efforts to regain entry.
Deputy foreign trade minister Janusz Kaczurba recognised
this fact recently.
Kaczurba told the official PAP news agency recently, "Making
up our lost position will take a long time and be uncommonly
difficult, and in certain cases impossible... In a period of
two to three years it will be possible to increase the level of
exports by only about 100 mln dlrs."
While Poland is unlikely to seek compensation, it says it
has a "moral right" to assistance from the U.S. Which it says
imposed the sanctions illegally. But a Western economist said
"The argument that U.S. Sanctions were a unilateral torpedoing
of the Polish economy won't cut any ice. The Americans will
just reply that the Poles acted immorally in crushing
Solidarity."
Nevertheless, Polish National Bank head Wladyslaw Baka, in
talks in Washington last week with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and World Bank, made it clear that Poland was
looking for a lead from the United States.
He was quoted by PAP as saying that Poland would meet its
financial obligations to the United States, "but not in a short
time and not without a cooperative stand on the part of its
foreign economic partners."
He stressed that the U.S. "had a particular opportunity to
play a part in the cooperative policy of Poland's partners
interested in the settlement of Polish debt."
Putting it more sharply, one senior banking official blamed
Washington for obstructing talks with the World Bank, IMF and
Paris Club of Western creditor governments in recent years and
said it should now play a more positive role.
"As a major superpower the United States can influence
international organisations," he said, citing recent meetings
aimed at stabilising currencies as an example of the extent to
which Western nations were prepared to cooperate.
REUTER
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Britain had a visible trade deficit of
2.6 billion stg in the fourth quarter of 1986 against a revised
deficit of 2.9 billion in the third quarter, official
statistics show.
Seasonally-adjusted figures issued by the Central
Statistical Office (CSO) show the current account was in
deficit by 760 mln stg against an upwardly revised third
quarter shortfall of 930 mln.
For 1986 as a whole, visible trade was in deficit by 8.3
billion stg, sharply up from 1985's 2.2. Billion shortfall and
a 4.4 billion deficit in 1984.
Preliminary figures for invisible transactions in the
fourth quarter show a surplus 1.8 billion stg to give an
estimated surplus for 1986 of 7.2 billion. The fourth quarter
figure was in line with CSO projections released on Friday.
The third quarter invisibles surplus was revised down to
1.9 billion stg from 2.25 billion.
In 1985 the invisibles surplus was 5.1 billion stg.
The reduced deficit on visible trade in the fourth quarter
was due to an increase in the surplus on oil of 200 mln stg and
a reduction in the non-oil trade deficit of 100 mln, the CSO
said.
However, 1986's surplus on oil trade was 4.0 billion stg
lower than in 1985, while the deficit on non-oil trade
increased by 2.1 billion.
The figures were broadly in line with market expectations.
The CSO stressed that figures for invisible transactions,
particularly for the most recent quarters are liable to
substantial revisions as later information becomes available.
REUTER
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The Bank of France is likely to cut its
money market intervention rate by up to a quarter point at the
start of next week. This follows a steady decline in the call
money rate over the past 10 days and signals from the Finance
Ministry that the time is ripe for a fall, dealers said.
The call money rate peaked at just above nine pct ahead of
the meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Five
industrial countries and Canada on February 22, which restored
considerable stability to foreign exchanges after several weeks
of turbulence.
The call money rate dropped to around 8-3/8 pct on February
23, the day after the Paris accord, and then edged steadily
down to eight pct on February 27 and 7-3/4 pct on March 3,
where it has now stabilised.
Dealers said the Bank of France intervened to absorb
liquidity to hold the rate at 7-3/4 pct.
While call money has dropped by well over a percentage
point, the Bank of France's money market intervention rate has
remained unchanged since January 2, when it was raised to eight
pct from 7-1/4 pct in a bid to stop a franc slide.
The seven-day repurchase rate has also been unchanged at
8-3/4 since it was raised by a half-point on January 5.
The Bank of France has begun using the seven-day repurchase
rate to set an upper indicator for money market rates, while
using the intervention rate to set the floor.
Sources close to Finance Minister Edouard Balladur said
that he would be happy to see an interest rate cut, and dealers
said any fall in the intervention rate was most likely to come
when the Bank of France buys first category paper next Monday,
although an earlier cut could not be excluded.
A cut in the seven-day repurchase rate could come as early
as tomorrow morning, banking sources said.
They said recent high interest rates have encouraged an
acceleration in foreign funds returning to France, discouraging
the authorities from making a hasty rate cut. But they also
pointed out that money supply is broadly back on target, giving
scope for a small fall in rates.
M-3 money supply, the government's key aggregate, finished
1986 within the government's three to five pct growth target,
rising 4.6 pct compared with seven pct in 1985.
REUTER
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Traded volumes for U.K. Grain and potato
futures in February were down on the previous month while
pigmeat and pig cash settlement futures were higher, official
figures show.
Combined wheat and barley futures trade declined to 892,700
tonnes from 1.19 mln in January, and the value fell to 97 mln
stg from 129 mln, Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA)
figures show.
A total of 984,960 tonnes were registered for main crop
potato futures in February valued at 157 mln stg, versus
992,760 and 164 mln stg in January.
Soymeal futures trade totalled 76,340 tonnes against 90,680
in January, and value declined to nine mln stg from 10 mln.
Nine pigmeat contracts were traded in February, six more
than in the previous month, representing 450 carcases against
150, valued at 29,347 stg against 9,847 stg.
Pig cash settlement futures saw 201 contracts traded,
against 19 in January, and the value rose to 659,864 stg from
119,610 stg.
REUTER
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The Bundesbank left credit policies
unchanged after today's regular meeting of its council, a
spokesman said in answer to enquiries.
The West German discount rate remains at 3.0 pct, and the
Lombard emergency financing rate at 5.0 pct.
REUTER
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The Bank of England said it provided the
money market with a further 20 mln stg of assistance during the
morning. It again bought bills for resale to the market on
April 2 at a rate of 10-15/16 pct. Earlier this morning, it
bought 17 mln stg of bills at the same rate and for resale on
the same date.
The Bank has thus given a total of 37 mln stg so far today,
which leaves the bulk of a 1.15 billion stg shortage still in
the system. Dealers noted that money market rates again eased
this morning and the Bank may have refused bill offers from the
discount houses at rates below its established dealing levels.
REUTER
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Ice conditions are unchanged at the
Soviet Baltic oil port of Ventspils, with continuous and
compacted drift ice 15 to 30 cms thick, the latest report of
the Finnish Board of Navigation said.
Icebreaker assistance to reach Ventspils harbour is needed
for normal steel vessels without special reinforcement against
ice, the report said.
It gave no details of ice conditions at the other major
Soviet Baltic export harbour of Klaipeda.
Reuter
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The Swiss Finance Ministry is inviting
tenders for a new series of three-month money market
certificates to raise about 150 mln Swiss francs, the Swiss
National Bank said.
Bids would be due on March 10 and payment on March 12.
The last issue of three-month paper conducted on February
12 yielded 2.969 pct.
REUTER
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Egypt's Central Bank today set the dollar
rate for commercial banks for March 6 at 1.373/87 dollars,
unchanged from the previous rate.
REUTER
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|
OPEC crude oil output in the first few
days of March was running at about 14.7 mln bpd, down from a 16
mln bpd average for February and well below the 15.8 mln bpd
ceiling the group adopted in December, a Reuter survey shows.
The figures were polled by Reuters correspondents from oil
traders, industry executives and analysts in Europe, the Middle
East, Africa, Latin America and Asia.
They back recent statements by OPEC ministers that the
group is producing within its ceiling to support the return to
a fixed price system, which came into effect last month.
OPEC output for the whole of February was about 200,000 bpd
above the ceiling, largely because of overproduction by the
United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, the figures show.
The UAE, together with the much smaller producer Ecuador,
was also producing above quota in the first days of March, the
survey reveals.
But such overproduction was compensated for by a sharp fall
in Saudi Arabian output, together with Iran"s inability to
export as much as its quota allows.
Iraq rejected its OPEC quota of 1.466 mln bpd and produced
1.75 mln bpd in February and early March, the figures showed.
Saudi output -- excluding movements into stocks -- fell to
3.1 mln bpd in early March from 3.5 mln bpd in February,
against a 4.133 mln bpd quota. The Saudi figures include a
200,000 bpd share of Neutral Zone production.
Kuwait, which has consistently denied quota violations, was
estimated to be pumping 1.4 mln bpd in February and 1.15 in
early March -- both figures including 200,000 bpd as its share
of Neutral Zone output -- against its 948,000 bpd quota.
Reports of customer resistance to fixed prices set by some
OPEC states were reflected in output from Qatar and Nigeria,
both substantially under quota in February and early March.
Qatar's February output was 230,000 bpd, and this fell to
180,000 bpd in early March compared with its 285,000 bpd quota.
Industry sources say Japanese buyers are resisting Qatar"s
prices and Gulf Arab oil states have pledged to make up for any
shortfall in sales which a fellow Gulf state suffers.
Nigeria's early March output was about one mln bpd, down
from 1.14 mln bpd in February and its quota of 1.238 mln bpd.
Industry sources say Nigeria's customers believe its Bonny
grades are overpriced compared with compatible Brent crudes
from the U.K. North Sea.
Country-by-country production figures are as follows, in
mln bpd -
COUNTRY CURRENT FEBRUARY QUOTA
ALGERIA 0.64 0.64 0.635
ECUADOR 0.26 0.26 0.210
GABON 0.15 0.15 0.152
INDONESIA 1.16 1.16 1.133
IRAN 1.80 2.20 2.255
IRAQ 1.75 1.75 1.466
KUWAIT 1.15 1.40 0.948
LIBYA 0.95 0.95 0.948
NIGERIA 1.00 1.14 1.238
QATAR 0.18 0.23 0.285
SAUDI ARABIA 3.10 3.50 4.133
UAE 1.10 1.15 0.902
VENEZUELA 1.50 1.50 1.495
TOTAL 14.7 16.0 15.8
REUTER
Reuter
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Baker International corp said it has
filed suit in state court in Houston to compel Hughes Tool Co
to complete its proposed merger with Baker.
Late yesterday, Hughes said it had terminated the merger
agreement because Baker would not agree to an alternative
divestiture plan devised by Hughes. Hughes' board had
previously found unacceptable a U.S. Justice Department consent
decree that would have required broader divestitures.
Baker said it has not obtained any satisfactory explanation
from Hughes of its objections to the provisions of the Justice
Department consent decree.
Hughes yesterday adjourned the special meeting at which
shareholders were to vote on the merger without permitting the
counting of votes on the deal. Baker said it believes the vote
was overwhelmingly in favor of the merger.
Baker said the new terms that Hughes proposed for the
merger, as an alternative to the consent decree, were "more
burdensome" than those of the consent decree themselves.
Baker said divestitures under the consent decree would
reduce revenues for the combined company by about 65 mln dlrs
or three pct.
Baker said it will continue to pursue the divestitures of
the units named in the consent decree.
It said its suit names as defendants Hughes and certain of
its directors and seeks either an injunction forcing Hughes to
live up to the merger agreement or "substantial" monetary
damages it did not name.
Baker said it believes the merger to be in the best
interests of shareholders of both companies.
Reuter
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Spain's Finance Ministry deregulated bank
deposit rates in an effort to raise competition among banks and
bring legislation into line with the European Community (EC), a
ministry spokesman said.
The measure was published today in the Official State
Gazette. It takes effect tomorrow and lifts restrictions on
rates, now limited to six pct on deposits of up to 180 days.
The government also enacted a decree cutting to one pct
from 13 pct the proportion of total assets which banks must
lend at favourable rates to industries classified "of public
interest."
Some bankers expect the deregulation of rates to result in
a 20 pct drop in profits this year.
Secretary of State for the Economy Guillermo de la Dehesa
told Reuters in a recent interview the reduction in fixed asset
investments would offset losses from the rate liberalisation.
REUTER
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USAir Group Inc said its board has
rejected Trans World Airlines Inc's offer to acquire USAir for
52 dlrs per share in cash as grossly in adequate and not in the
best interests of USAir shareholders, employees or passengers.
The company said the unsolicited bid by the Carl C.
Icahn-led TWA was "highly conditional."
USAir said its board and that of Piedmont Aviation Inc
<PIE> met separately yesterday to consider USAir's offer to
acquire 50.1 pct of Piedmont for 71 dlrs per share and
remaining shares for 1.5 to 1.9 common shares each, valued at
about 73 dlrs per share based on the average closing price of
USAir common during a period just before the merger.
The company said it is continuing talks with Piedmont on
arriving at a definitive merger agreement and the two companies
hope to reach one very shortly.
USAir said "In light of the highly conditional nature and
other terms of the TWA offer, the timing of the offer and the
circumstances under which it was made, USAir Group believes
that the purpose of the TWA offer is to interfere with USAir
Group's proposed acquisition of Piedmont.
"TWA's proposal is nothing more than an attempt by Carl
Icahn to disrupt at the eleventh hour USAir Group's acquisition
of Piedmont, a transaction which the USAir Group board views as
most beneficial to USAir Group shareholders, employees and
passengers and which Mr. Icahn obviously regards as contrary to
his own personal interests."
USAir said its board has authorized counsel to explore all
appropriate legal remedies against what it called TWA's
last-minute attempt to interfere with USAir Group's acquisition
of Piedmont.
The company said conditions to the TWA offer include TWA
obtaining financing, the USAir board redeeming defensive rights
issued to shareholders last year and acting to render the "fair
price" provision contained in USAir's charter inapplicable to
the TWA offer and Transportation Department approval.
Reuter...
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Jaguar Plc <JAGR.L> is about to sell its
new XJ-6 model on the U.S. And Japanese markets and expects a
strong reception based on its success in the U.K., Chairman Sir
John Egan told a news conference.
Commenting on an 11 pct growth in 1986 group turnover to
830.4 mln stg and pre-tax profits at 120.8 mln stg, slightly
below 1985's 121.3 mln, Egan said Jaguar aimed at an average
profit growth of 15 pct per year. However, the introduction of
the new model had kept this year's pre-tax profit down.
Jaguar starts selling XJ-6 in the U.S. In May and plans to
sell 25,000 of its total 47,000 production there in 1987.
U.S. Sales now account for 65 pct of total turnover,
finance director John Edwards said.
A U.S. Price for the car has not been set yet, but Edwards
said the relatively high car prices in dollars of West German
competitors offered an "umbrella" for Jaguar. He added the XJ-6
had also to compete with U.S. Luxury car producers which would
restrict the car's price.
Jaguar hedges a majority of its dollar receipts on a
12-month rolling basis and plans to do so for a larger part of
its receipts for longer periods, John Egan said.
In the longer term, capital expenditure will amount to 10
pct of net sales. Research and development will cost four pct
of net sales and training two pct.
Jaguar builds half of its cars and buys components for the
other half. The firm is in early stages of considering the
building of an own press shop in Britain for about 80 mln stg,
but Egan said this would take at least another three years
On the London Stock Exchange, Jaguar's shares were last
quoted at 591p, down from 611p at yesterday's close, after
reporting 1986 results which were in line with market
expectations, dealers said.
REUTER...
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The Commodity Credit Corporation,
CCC, has accepted bids for export bonuses to cover sales of
25,000 tonnes of wheat flour to Iraq, the U.S. Agriculture
Department said.
The department said the bonuses awarded averaged 116.84
dlrs per tonne.
The shipment periods are March 15-April 20 (12,500 tonnes)
and April 1-May 5 (12,500 tonnes).
The bonus awards were made to Peavey Company and will be
paid in the form of commodities from CCC stocks, it said.
An additional 175,000 tonnes of wheat flour are still
available to Iraq under the Export Enhancement Program
initative announced January 7, 1987, the department said.
Reuter
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|
Shr 19 cts vs 13 cts
Net 2,656,000 vs 1,712,000
Revs 15.4 mln vs 9,443,000
Avg shrs 14.1 mln vs 12.6 mln
Year
Shr 98 cts vs 77 cts
Net 13.8 mln vs 8,928,000
Revs 58.8 mln vs 48.5 mln
Avg shrs 14.0 mln vs 11.6 mln
NOTE: Shr figures adjusted for 3-for-2 split paid Feb 6,
1987.
Reuter
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<Orbit Oil and Gas Ltd> said
the value of its oil and gas reserves increased by 19 pct to
52.6 mln dlrs from 44.2 mln dlrs reported at year-end 1985,
according to an independent appraisal.
Orbit said it has reserves of 2.4 mln barrels of oil and
natural gas liquids and 67.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
In addition, 75 pct owned <Sienna Resources Ltd> has
Canadian reserves of 173,000 barrels of oil and 1.6 bcf of
natural gas with a current value of 2.2 mln dlrs, Orbit said.
Reuter
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The Commodity Credit Corporation,
CCC, has accepted a bid for an export bonus to cover a sale of
2,000 tonnes of semolina to Egypt, the U.S. Agriculture
Department said.
The department said the bonus was 233.91 dlrs per tonne and
was made to International Multifoods Corp. The bonus will be
paid in the form of commodities from CCC stocks.
The semolina is for shipment during June 1987, it said.
An additional 13,000 tonnes of semolina are still available
to Egypt under the Export Enhancement Program initiative
announced on August 6, 1986, it said.
Reuter
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Five consortia have applied to buy the
French state-owned telephone equipment manufacturer <Cie
Generale de Constructions Telephoniques (CGCT)>, which will
give the owners control of 16 pct of the French telephone
switching market, sources close to Finance Minister Edouard
Balladur said.
The French government has given itself until the end of
April to decide which applicant will be accepted, they added.
While several foreign groups have said they want to gain a
foothold in the French market, their potential stake in CGCT is
limited to 20 pct under privatisation laws passed last year,
with 80 pct to be left in French hands.
The Finance Ministry sources gave no details of the groups
interested in CGCT, but several have publicly announced their
candidacies.
U.S. Telecommunications giant American Telephone and
Telegraph Co <T.N> which has been at the centre of the two-year
battle for CGCT, has teamed up with the Dutch-based <Philips
Telecommunications Industrie B.V.>, a subsidiary of NV Philips
Gloeilampenfabriek <PGLO.AS> and <Societe Anonyme de
Telecommunications> (SAT) to present a joint bid, in
association with holding company Cie du Midi SA <MCDP.P> and
five French investment funds.
A second bid has come from the West German electronics
group Siemens AG <SIEG.F>, which hopes to take a 20 pct stake
in CGCT, with the French telecommunications <Jeumont-Schneider>
taking the remaining 80 pct.
Sweden's <AB LM Ericsson> has also submitted a bid for the
maximum 20 pct permitted, in association with French defence
electronics group <Matra>, which would hold between 40 and 49
pct, and construction group <Bouygues>.
Matra has already acquired CGCT's private telephone
business.
REUTER...
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Blizzard conditions halted shipping
through the Bosphorus waterway and piled snow up to 70 cms deep
in central Istanbul, paralysing the city for the second day
running.
Snow whipped by 48 kph winds continued to fall on Istanbul
and northwest Anatolia after 36 hours and weather reports
predicted no relief for another two days.
Port officials said at least six large vessels in the Black
Sea and 13 in the Sea of Marmara were waiting for conditions to
improve.
Istanbul's Ataturk international airport has been closed
since yesterday.
Reuter
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The <Sterling Grace Capital Management
L.P.> group said it is confident financing can be arranged if
The Japan Fund's board recommend's the group's acquisition
proposal.
The group, which also includes <Anglo American Security
Fund L.P.> and T.B. Pickens III, Tuesday proposed an entity it
controls acquire for cash all the assets of Japan Fund for 95
pct of the fund's aggregate net asset value.
The group said it has had a number of meetings over the
past few days with domestic and overseas financial institutions.
The Sterling Grace Capital group said certain of these
institutions have expressed serious interest in providing
financing for the proposed acquisition of Japan Fund, "adding
we are reasonably confident that the financing can be quickly
arranged if the Japan Fund's board of directors is willing to
recommend the transaction to shareholders."
Reuter
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Shr profit 20 cts vs loss two cts
Net profit 2,665,000 vs loss 202,000
Revs 12,141,000 vs 5,993,000
Nine mths
Shr profit 35 cts vs loss 11 cts
Net profit 4,653,000 vs loss 1,167,000
Revs 35.1 mln vs 18.0 mln
Reuter
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Shr 99 cts vs 1.25 dlrs
Net 418,733 vs 235,572
Revs 2,777,425 vs 2,024,116
Note: 1986 shr after November, 1986 600,000 class A
subordinate floating share issue
Reuter
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The Bank of England said it had given the
money market 206 mln stg of assistance this afternoon and
offered the discount houses borrowing facilities to take out
the rest of the 1.10 billion stg shortage, revised down from an
initial 1.15 billion estimate.
It made no alteration to its established dealing rates,
buying 95 mln stg of band one bank bills at 10-7/8 pct and 111
mln of band two bank bills at 10-13/16 pct. This brings the
Bank's total assistance so far today to 243 mln stg.
REUTER
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E.F. Hutton Group Inc said it has
started its previously announced offer to purchase up to
6,332,471 common shares of Purolator Courier Corp at 35 dlrs
each.
In a newspaper advertisement, the company said the offer,
proration period and withdrfawal rights will expire April One
unless extended. The offer is conditioned on receipt of at
least 5,116,892 Purolator shares, or a 66.7 pct interest, and
is the first step in a merger agreement that has been approved
by the Purolator board.
Hutton said it reserves the right to buy more than
6,332,471 shares but has no present intention of doing so. It
said it may waive the condition that at least 5,116,892 shares
be tendered as long as it received at least a 50.1 pct
interest. If it were to receive fewer shares than that, it
said it would only purchase sharesd with the consent of
Purolator.
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Responsibility for the appreciation of
the Taiwan dollar and the South Korean Won lies soley with
those countries, said U.S. trade representative Clayton Yeutter
Speaking to the Asia Society, Yeutter said that it is in
those countries' own long-term interest to raise the value of
their currencies against the dollar.
Yeutter was responding to a question about what the U.S.
could do to encourage appreciation of those currencies against
the dollar in order to reduce the large U.S. trade deficits
with Taiwain and Korea.
"An undervalued currency will help those countries' exports
in the short term, but in the long run they have to be
concerned about how they are perceived in the international
business community," Yeutter said.
For Taiwan, Yeutter said that with its per capita trade
surplus with the U.S., much larger than that of Japan's, and
with huge foreign exchange reserves, it was difficult to defend
the high import tarrifs and other barriers that prevail in that
country.
He also said that the south Korean Won should begin to move
to reflect underlying economic fundamentals, "otherwise in two
or three years' time, Korea will be in the same situation that
prevails in Taiwan."
Turning to the U.S. deficit with Japan of more than 50
billion dlrs, Yeutter said that this situation was not
sustainable.
"Something must give soon. If not, there is a great threat
of U.S. legislative action to counteract that trend," Yeutter
said.
Reuter
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Shr diluted loss 31 cts vs profit 17 cts
Net loss 2,806,005 vs profit 1,513,395
Revs 15.0 mln vs 10.4 mln
Avg shrs diluted 8,982,754 vs 8,804,899
NOTE: Current year includes loss of 3.4 mln dlrs from
takeover defense expenses. Also includes losses of 1.8 mln dlrs
vs 332,000 dlrs from equity in limited partnerships.
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Orange-Co Inc said its
largest shareholder, <Summit Resoureces Inc>, has increased its
stake to 15 pct from 14 pct and now owns 644,727 shares.
Reuter
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Oper shr profit 1.66 dlrs vs loss eight cts
Oper net profit 12.0 mln vs loss 572,000
Revs 27.4 mln vs 4,311,000
Year
Oper shr profit 1.36 dlrs vs loss 43 cts
Oper net profit 9,817,000 vs loss 2,433,000
Revs 35.0 mln vs 13.8 mln
Avg shrs 7,224,000 vs 6,731,000
NOTE: 1985 net includes tax credits of 492,000 dlrs in
quarter and 2,433,000 dlrs in year.
1985 net both periods excludes 168,000 dlr loss from
discontinued operations.
1986 net both periods includes pretax gain 21.8 mln dlrs
from sale of remaining interest in Paradise Hills, N.M.,
development.
Reuter
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Shr 33p vs 38p
Net 97 mln vs 111 mln
Revs 1.71 billion vs 1.76 billion
NOTE: Figures in sterling.
Share results after deducting preferred share dividends of
one mln pounds sterling in 1986.
Reuter
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Shr loss 3.84 dlrs vs nil
Net loss 56,879,000 vs profit 23,000
Rev 10.3 mln vs 17.7 mln
Year
Shr loss 4.60 dlrs vs profit 14 cts
Net loss 67,818,000 vs profit 1,807,000
Rev 50.9 mln vs 56.1 mln
Avg shares 14,734,000 vs 12,801,000
NOTE: Fourth qtr net includes a one-time restructuring
charge of 45.2 mln dlrs. 1985 net income includes extraordinary
gain of 3.2 mln dlrs, or 25 cts.
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Trimedyne Inc said it will
distribute one Class B common share of <Automedix Sciences Inc>
for each four Trimedyne shares held of record on March Nine.
The company said in the spinoff it is distributing its
entire 44 pct interesdt in Automedix. The spun-off stock will
not be saleable for 13 months, the company said.
Reuter
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Shr 16 cts vs 13 cts
Net 1,900,000 vs 1,600,000
Sales 68.2 mln vs 69.6 mln
Nine mths
Shr 60 cts vs 43 cts
Net 7,100,000 vs 4,700,000
Sales 214.0 mln vs 219.5 mln
Reuter
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French operators have requested licences
to export 40,000 tonnes of free market feed wheat, 32,500
tonnes of soft bread wheat, 375,000 tonnes of barley and
465,000 tonnes of maize at today's European Community tender,
trade sources here said.
Rebates requested ranged between 134 and 136.50 European
currency units (Ecus) a tonne for the feed wheat, 137.39 and
141.50 Ecus a tonne for the bread wheat, 137.93 and 142.95 Ecus
for the barley and 133.75 and 140.25 Ecus for the maize.
Reuter
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Diamond Shamrock said it raised its
posted prices for all grades of crude oil one dlr a barrel,
effective yesterday.
The one dlr increase brings West Texas Intermediate, WTI
the U.S. benchmark crude, to 17.00 dlrs a bbl, the company
said.
Diamond Shamrock joined Sun Co, Coastal, Citgo and Murphy
Oil in raising crude oil posted prices one dlr a barrel
yesterday.
Reuter
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Shr 27 cts vs 28 cts
Net 1,026,000 vs 1,025,000
Sales 27.8 mln vs 25.4 mln
Year
Shr 95 cts vs 16 cts
Net 3,682,000 vs 598,000
Sales 102.1 mln vs 100.4 mln
Avg shrs 3,858,000 vs 3,700,000
Reuter
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Oper shr loss five cts vs loss 50 cts
Oper net loss 3,862,000 vs loss 15,900,000
Sales 42.6 mln vs 38.8 mln
Avg shr 72.1 mln vs 31.7 mln
Year
Oper shr loss 51 cts vs loss 2.10 dlrs
Oper net loss 30.3 mln vs 51.3 mln
Sales 151.7 mln vs 153.1 mln
Avg shrs 59.4 mln vs 24.4 mln
Backlog 57.1 mln vs 52.9 mln
NOTES: Operating losses exclude profits from discontinued
operationgs of 1,000,000 dlrs, or one cent a share, vs
2,493,000 dlrs, or eight cts a share, in quarter and 65.0 mln
dlrs, or 1.09 dlrs a share, vs 13.7 mln dlrs, or 56 cts a
share, in year
1986 year operating loss also excludes extraordinary gain
of of 25.6 mln dlrs, or 43 cts a share
Backlog, which includes only orders to be shipped within 12
mths, was 63.0 mln dlrs on January 31. Orders to be shipped
beyond 12 mths were 27.6 mln dlrs vs 17.1 mln dlrs at December
31
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Qtly div 4-1/2 cts vs 4-1/2 cts prior
Pay April 15
Record March 24
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Mannesmann AG <MMWG.F>, the
diversified engineering and pipe-making group, is interested in
taking a stake in a U.S. Company or companies but has not yet
found a suitable firm, a spokesman said in reply to questions.
Mannesmann managing board chairman Werner Dieter told the
business weekly Wirtschaftswoche in an interview that
Mannesmann wanted to invest in a U.S. Company in order to
strengthen its presence on the U.S. Market.
Dieter said Mannesmann would act quickly when and if it
found a firm in which it wanted to take a stake.
The Mannesmann spokesman declined to say in which
industrial sector the group may make a U.S. Acquisition or how
big the acquisition might be.
He also said the group had not yet completed taking over a
stake in car components firm <Fichtel und Sachs AG>.
Mannesmann had said in January it hoped to take a 37.5 pct
stake in Fichtel und Sachs's holding company, Sachs AG, in the
first quarter. The spokesman said Mannesmann had a letter of
intent on the takeover from the heirs of the company's late
owner but completion has been delayed by legal questions
concerning the inheritance.
REUTER
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Shr 1.83 dlrs vs 77 cts
Net 296.6 mln vs 120.1 mln
Year
Shr 4.90 dlrs vs 2.76 dlrs
Net 795.8 mln vs 420.5 mln
NOTE: Includes gains of 139.2 mln vs 46.8 mln in year and
94.0 mln vs 11.6 mln from capital gains from investments.
Reuter
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Systems for Health Care Inc said it
repositioned the company through a one-for-50 reverse stock
split.
It said there are now 3,002,500 common shares outstanding
with a quoted price of about 7/8 bid, compared to 150,125,000
shares outstanding prior to the split.
In another recent development, Systems for Health Care
formally changed its name to its present form from Orcas Corp.
Reuter
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Royal Dutch/Shell Group <RD.AS> earnings
for 1986 from the U.S. Fell sharply because of difficult market
conditions, lower crude and gas prices and also due to
different accounting methods, Shell chairman Peter Holmes said.
The Shell Oil dollar net income fell 47 pct in the year,
while the additional effect of currency movements reduced the
contribution to group net income by 57 pct to 472 mln stg.
The group earlier reported a drop in net income for the
year to 2.54 billion stg from 3.03 billion previously, with
lower crude prices outweighing the effect of increased sales by
volume.
Although the figures were lower, they were nonetheless at
the top end of market forecasts. Shell Transport and Trading
Plc <SC.L> shares, the U.K. Arm of the group, rose to 11.39 stg
from a close last night of 11.06 stg. Analysts noted that a
general collapse in exploration and production volumes was
partially offset by earnings from chemicals rising to 462 mln
stg from 205 mln in 1985.
Also, a windfall tax credit and lower than expected
currency losses had added about 100 mln stg onto fourth quarter
results, which was the main reason for the figures exceeding
forecasts, industry analyst Chris Rowland of Barclays de Zoete
Wedd noted.
However, he added there could well be a sharp fall in
performance in the first quarter of 1987, due to the
improbability that the group would be able to repeat the high
refining and marketing margins of first quarter 1986.
The impact of recovering oil prices would come through
faster on the downstream side than on the upstream as such a
high proportion of upstream activity centred on gas, which
typically reacted to oil price changes with about a half-year
lag, analysts said.
Holmes said that in the upstream U.S. Sector the third
quarter of 1986 had been the worst of all.
Only two of the oil majors had managed to make a profit in
the period, with Shell Oil being one of them. The decrease in
U.S. Earnings had been accentuated by tax rates but the group
had increased share to become volume market leader, Holmes
added.
Continued low crude oil prices would continue to subdue
U.S. Exploration activity. "Exploration is currently pretty
flat. We are going to go on, but at 16-18 dlrs there will be no
massive upturn," he said.
A renewal of exploration in high cost areas of the North
Sea and the U.S. Requires prices of around 25 dlrs a barrel.
Ultimately this would lead to a rise in U.S. Imports. "If
you are not exploring you are not going to find anything," he
noted.
U.S. Oil production had dropped some half mln barrels a day
(bbd) in 1986 and would continue to fall if the price stayed
below 20 dlrs a barrel.
This favored OPEC's attempts to stabilise prices, as the
lower the price the more likelihood there was of non-OPEC
marginal production shutting down. "OPEC has done pretty
extraordinarily well...Everything is moving in (its) direction,"
he added.
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Bankers welcomed the Bank of Spain's
decision to raise the reserve requirement for banks and savings
banks, saying it reflected the socialist government's
determination not to ease up in the fight against inflation
despite the painful social effects of four years of austerity.
The central bank last night raised the requirement by one
percentage point to 19 pct from March 13, saying that excess
liquidity threatened money supply and inflation targets.
Bankers said the move represented a change of tactic by the
Bank, which until now has relied on raising interest rates to
choke off money supply growth.
"I think it's a good measure," a senior foreign banker said.
"It's a faster way to get the job done than using interest rates
and avoids unpleasant effects on other areas of the economy."
"It shows that the political will is very strong. They know
that controlling inflation will make industry more competitive
and bring down unemployment in the long run," he added.
The head of another foreign bank said that only a month
ago, the Bank of Spain had dismissed his suggestion of a rise
in reserve requirements, preferring to pursue its strategy of
raising interest rates.
But bankers said the high real interest rates on offer now
-- around eight pct for overnight funds -- was attracting money
from abroad, strengthening the peseta and making Spanish
exports less competitive.
The government says industry's competitiveness is also
being hit hard by inflation. At 8.3 pct last year, the rate was
way above that of Spain's major trading partners in the
European Community, which it joined a year ago.
To help meet this year's target of five pct, it is
insisting pay rises stay at that level, setting the stage for
clashes with trade unions, who say they have made enough
sacrifices.
Demonstrations by workers, students and farmers, whose
demands essentially involve more government spending, have
become an almost daily occurrence. But Prime Minister Felipe
Gonzalez insists that the state is doing as much as it can.
Bankers said the reserve requirement increase could have
some impact on commercial lending rates but should not hit the
money market too hard.
The Bank of Spain, which only yesterday raised its key
overnight call money rate to 13.5 pct, left it unchanged at
today's auction. The rate has been increased nine times since
the start of the year, when it was below 12 pct.
Bankers said commercial lending rates were set to rise in
any case with the end of the six pct maximium interest rate
banks can offer for time deposits of up to six months.
The measure will take effect tomorrow, following the
publication of the decree in today's official gazette. Bankers
say the liberalisation will increase the cost of funds and,
inevitably, push lending rates higher.
A companion measure, reducing the proportion of funds which
banks must invest in specific areas, also takes effect
tomorrow. Officials said when the cut was approved last month
that it was aimed partly at compensating banks for higher
interest rates.
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133.5 mln crowns vs 101 mln.
Sales 1.61 billion vs 1.51 billion.
Proposed dividend 0.80 crowns vs 0.40 crowns.
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Western Canada's resource-based economy
is being hurt by international market forces and there is
little Ottawa can do about it, Finance Minister Michael Wilson
said.
"If you can tell me how we can get the international energy
price up and how we can get the price for copper up and how we
can get the price for wheat up, then we will listen," Wilson
told the House of Comnons Finance Committee.
Although under pressure from oil companies and wheat
farmers for help in battling depressed commodity prices, Wilson
said it has to be recognized the area was a "prisoner of market
forces outside the boundaries of this country."
Wilson, appearing before the committee to discuss the
government's spending estimates released earlier this week,
said the government is doing what it can in the region, citing
more than 3.5 billion dlrs in aid for western agriculture.
"Those resources are a reflection of very real concerns on
our part in dealing with a very difficult problem," Wilson said
in response to questions about management of the economy from
opposition party members.
He said the long term answer for depressed regions of the
country was reaching a free trade pact with the United States,
which he claimed would improve the outlook for Western Canada.
Reuter
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American Software Inc said its board
declared a three-for-two stock split on Class A and Class B
common shares, payable March 31, record March 16.
The company said it expects to increase its semiannual
dividend 12.5 pct to six cts per share post-split from eight
cts pre-split.
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Comdata Network Inc said
it has entered into a letter of intent with a limited
partnership managed by Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe (WCAS)
to merge Comdata into a corproration to be formed by WCAS.
Comdata said in the merger each share of the company's
stock would be converted at the holders election into either 15
dlrs in cash or a combination of 10 dlrs in cash and a unit of
securities including common stock.
Comdata said the terms are subject to the condition that
WCAS' affiliate investors would own a minimum of 60 pct of the
fully diluted stock of the new entity.
Comdata said WCAS and its affiliate investors would commit
50 mln dlrs to buy the securities comprising the new entities
units of securities resulting from the merger in the same
proportions and at the same price as the company shareholders.
Comdata said the move is subject to execution of definitive
agreement and approval by Comdata shareholders as well as
obtaining up to 200 mln dlrs in debt financing.
WCAS told Comdata it believes that it can get commitments
for this financing.
Reuter
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Shr 78 cts vs 1.16 dlrs
Net 6.7 mln vs 9.5 mln
Revs 278 mln vs 290 mln
Reuter
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Shr 42 cts vs 19 cts
Net 2,903,000 vs 1,307,000
Revs 13.1 mln vs 8,937,000
Avg shrs 6,877,360 vs 6,874,970
Nine mths
Shr 98 cts vs 62 cts
Net 6,740,000 vs 4,085,000
Revs 33.9 mln vs 27.8 mln
Avg shrs 6,875,706 vs 6,605,879
Reuter
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U.S. Agriculture Secretary Richard
Lyng does not intend to discuss a wheat export enhancement
initiative to the Soviet Union at a cabinet-level Economic
Policy Council meeting set for tomorrow, an aide to Lyng said.
"He (Lyng) does not intend to bring it up," the aide said,
adding that the subsidy offer remains "dormant."
Lyng plans to spend "about five minutes" reviewing the status
of farm legislation on Capitol Hill before the Economic Policy
Council, which is responsible for guiding the administration's
economic policy, the aide said.
The USDA secretary met this morning with members of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee, but the handful of lawmakers
present did not ask whether the administration intended to
offer Moscow a wheat export bonus, the aide said.
Reuter
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BankAmerica Corp said it agreed to
sell <Bankhaus Centrale Credit AG>, its German consumer banking
subsidiary, and German credit card operations to <Banco de
Santander> of Spain.
Terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in
the second quarter, the bank holding company said.
Bankhaus Centrale Credit, with 31 branches, had total
assets of 927 mln marks at year-end 1986. The credit card
operation services 115,000 Visa card holders and 35,000
merchants in Germany, it said.
Reached later, a BankAmerica spokesman said the company
would record a pretax gain of 45 mln dlrs from the
transactions.
The spokesman declined, however, to disclose the price paid
for the operations by Banco de Santander or other terms of the
deal.
Reuter
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Shr 30 cts vs 36 cts
Net 1,211,000 vs 1,428,000
Revs 1,536,000 vs 1,743,000
Year
Shr 1.36 dlrs vs 62 cts
Net 5,438,000 vs 2,498,000
Revs 6,567,000 vs 2,971,000
NOTE: Company began operations after its July 29, 1985
public offering, therefore annual data are not directly
comparable.
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Shr 79 cts vs 72 cts
Net 581,915 vs 536,040
Revs 13.9 mln vs 13.3 mln
Year
Shr 3.28 dlrs vs 3.21 dlrs
Net 2,413,407 vs 2,360,048
Revs 54.9 mln vs 54.2 mln
Reuter
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Ryder System Inc said it has acquired
Caledonian Airmotive Ltd from <British Caledonian Group PLC>
for undisclosed terms.
Caledonian Airmotive repairs and rebuilds aircraft engines.
Reuter
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Swedish tyres, process equipment and
components firm <Trelleborg AB> said it was taking a larger
stake in mining and metals concern Boliden AB <BLDS.ST> than it
had originally intended.
Trelleborg had previously announced it was exercising an
option to acquire up to 65 pct of Boliden's voting rights.
In a statement, the company said they had received offers
of up to 68 pct of the rights, and that they would accept all.
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Shares of Polaroid Corp rose following
a reiterated recommendation by Merrill Lynch and Co that
focused on strong earnings momentum for the company, traders
said.
"We have been recommending the stock since it was in the
50s, but we reiterated today because of expectations of strong
earnings momentum, its benefits from the lower dollar and
anticipation of nice gains in margins," Merrill Lynch
analyst Charles Ryan said. He said a negative opinion by
another brokerage house hurt the stock Wednesday, and it can be
bought at a relatively bargain price today.
Ryan said "you always have to look at Polaroid at its
weakness. Its a volatile stock that has to be caught on
weakness." Polaroid's stock, which gained more than a point
early this morning, was trading at 76-1/8, up 5/8. It was down
over three points Wednesday morning before closing down 7/8.
"Polaroid is working overtime on production of cameras and
film, so we expect first quarter earnings to be up about 40
pct," Ryan said, estimating earnings of 70 cts a share in the
first quarter compared to 52 cts a share earned a year earlier.
He expects the company to earn four dlrs a share in 1987 as
compared to 3.34 dlrs a share last year.
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Profit after net financial items
500 mln crowns vs 359 mln
Sales 10.90 billion crowns vs 10.72 billion
Proposed dividend 12.50 crowns vs 10.50 crowns
REUTER
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Oper shr 22 cts vs 20 cts
Oper net 1,153,000 vs 1,068,000
Revs 15.7 mln vs 15.8 mln
Six mths
Oper shr 38 cts vs 38 cts
Oper net 2,039,000 vs 2,051,000
Revs 31.4 mln vs 31.6 mln
NOTE: exlcudes 145,000 discontinued operations for 1986
oper net for six mths for sale of electronics division.
Oper shr for qtr and six mths 1986 adjusted for stock split
and dividend distribution in November.
Reuter
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General Refractories Co said it
agreed to sell its European refractories and building products
operations for about 62 mln dlrs to an Austrian investor group.
The European operations had sales of 186 mln dlrs in 1985,
the last year for which results have been released, the company
said.
The sale, to a group headed by Girozentrale Bank of
Austria, is subject to shareholder approval by April 24, 1987,
it said. Its board has approved the deal, it said.
General Refractories' mineral operations are not affected.
Reuter
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Kidder Peabody and Co analyst Roy Burry
issued a strong buy recommendation on Pepsico Inc, citing an
improved profit outlook for both domestic soft drinks and
Frito-Lay snack foods.
Pepsico climbed 7/8 to 34-3/4 on 615,000 shares by
midmorning.
Burry forecast earnings of 2.00 dlrs per share in 1987 and
2.30 dlrs in 1988. In 1986 the company earned 1.75 dlrs per
share. Burry previously had a sell recommendation on Pepsico.
"We're looking at 10 to 15 pct earnings growth for Frito-lay in
1987, a trend that should continue through the decade."
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Securities and Exchange Commission
chairman John Shad said progress was being made in stopping
insider trading, but the chairman of a House subcommittee with
jurisdiction over securities laws said he was concerned about
conditions on Wall Street.
"Greed has created a feeding frenzy on Wall Street and in
the process laws are broken and multi-billion dlr corporations
have become easy prey," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass, the
chairman of the Telecommunications and Finance said at the
start of a hearing on SEC activities.
"Congress is understandably nervous. We perceive the
current scandals as a warning of even worse things to come,"
Markey said. "The frenzy and disruption created by merger mania
is particularly distressing."
Shad said the recent cases involving Ivan Boesky, Dennis
Levine and others was a warning that those who engage in
insider trading were taking a heavy risk of imprisonment, high
fines and disbarment from the securities industry.
"Insider trading has not been eradicated, but it has been
inhibited and multimillions of dollars of profits that Boesky
and others have been siphoning off the markets are now flowing
through to legitimate investors and traders," Shad said in his
statement.
Shad said insider trading cases involved only 10 pct or
less of SEC enforcement actions in recent years but they have
increased significantly to 125 cases brought during the past
five years compared to 77 cases in the preceeding 47 years.
Markey said he did not favor banning takeovers but thought
the tender offer process needed reform including earlier
disclosure of takeover attempts.
N.J. Rep. Mathew Rinaldo, the senior subcommittee
Republican, said he was introducing legislation to create a
five member commission to study the securities industry for a
year and report its findings and recommendations to Congress.
Commission members would be appointed by the SEC.
"Its primary mission would be to analyze the extent of
illegal trading on insider trading and to assess the adequacy
of existing surveillance systems and government oversight
operations. The commission would advise Congress as to what
additional resources or civil or criminal remedies are needed
to combat fraud and improve compliance with federal laws,"
Rinaldo said.
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OPEC output in February was "well below"
the 15.8 mln bpd ceiling it set in December and all countries
are strictly adhering to their quotas, the OPEC news agency
Opecna quoted an OPEC secretariat official as saying.
The official was quoted as saying that lower output was the
result "of member countries' firm determination to defend the
organisation's official price of 18 dlrs per barrel, and to
refrain from selling any quantity below that price."
The unnamed official was further quoted as saying that no
OPEC meeting was foreseen before the next biannual OPEC session
planned to start on June 25.
The official gave no figure for February output. The
statement said only that "the reduction in total supplies,
namely actual exports of crude oil and products, plus local
deliveries in member countries, is even more pronounced as
those supplies fell very noticeably during that month."
"No matter what the pressure on member countries by lifters
to align the official selling price to the ongoing market
price, member countries are, without exception, strictly
adhering to the official selling price in spite of the
financial hardship this may entail," the statement said.
"The very recent improvement in the price structure is an
indicator of such determination by the organization to stick to
the official selling price," the statement said.
Free spot market prices rose from around 14.50 dlrs a
barrel in early December last year to near OPEC's official
levels towards the end of the year, after the OPEC pact.
There has been oil industry speculation that OPEC might
have to hold an extraordinrary meeting prior to its scheduled
June session to discuss reports of overproduction by some
states and strains on the differential matrix, which prices
each OPEC crude according to its quality and distance from main
markets.
The official said in the statement that no such emergency
session was scheduled "because of member countries' firm
determination to defend the price (system)" agreed in December.
Opec"s differential committee was to have met in Vienna
starting April 2 but this session has been postponed, with no
new date set, according to an official of the United Arab
Emirates, which chairs the seven-state body.
Other members are Algeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Libya,
Nigeria and Qatar.
REUTER
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|
Perkin-Elmer Corp said it
acquired <Atomika Technische Physik>, based in Munich, West
Germany, a high technology concern specializing in surface
science instruments.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
It said Atomika will became a part of its Physical
Electronics Division, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., The
division is part of its Materials Surface Technology Group.
Reuter
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The U.S. Department of Transportation
said it gave final approval to USAir Group's proposed 400 mln
dlr acquisition of Pacific Southwest Airlines.
The department said the acquisition is not likely to
substantially lessen competition and would not harm the public
interest.
The department had given its tentative approval of the
acquisition in January.
The department said it decided to make final its tentative
decision after reviewing the public response to it.
The agency said it rejected an assertion by Air North
America, which currently is not operating but plans to start
service to some of the cities served by USAIR and PSA, that the
acquisition would lessen chances of new entry into those
markets by other carriers.
The agency said Air North America provided no support for
its claim that the transaction would give the two carriers
monopoly power in some markets.
The transportation agency said Air North America also
failed to show that there are barriers that would prevent new
entrants into those markets or prevent other carriers from
increasing their service.
The agency noted in its final order that PSA operates
exclusively in the West and Mexico while USAir serves the West
for the most part with some long-haul flights from the East and
Midwest.
The two carriers serve five point in common; Los Angeles,
San Diego, San Francico, Phoenix and Tucsonm, the agency said.
The transportation department also rejected a request by
the Teamsters Union, which represents some PSA workers, to
require protections for PSA workers.
The agency noted that USAir has promised to give protective
benefits to PSA workers and that unions representing PSA
workers have collective bargaining agreements that provide such
protections.
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MCI Communications Corp President
Bert Roberts said he expects MCI's financial performance to
improve in the current quarter compared to the previous
quarter.
He said American Telephone and Telegraph Co long-distance
rate cuts had cut into MCI's fourth quarter performance but
added: "There's going to be a continuing impact (on profits) but
we expect this quarter to be better than the fourth quarter."
The current quarter ends March 31.
For the fourth quarter, MCI reported a 448 mln dlr loss,
due mainly to write-offs and staff reductions.
Roberts said the ATT long-distance rate reductions, which
had been ordered by the Federal Communications Commission have
had "A significantly negative impact on our profits."
As reported earlier today, MCI said it plans to ask the FCC
to immediately deregulate ATT, apparently in hopes that an
unregulated ATT would pocket a greater proportion of its
revenues rather than cut rates further.
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Net 5,521,000 vs NA
Revs 358.1 mln vs 359.0 mln
Year
Net 55.3 mln vs NA
Revs 1.43 billion vs 1.34 billion
NOTE: Current year includes earnings of 49.6 mln dlrs for
the four months ended April 30, 1986. Year-ago earnings not
comparable because of acquisition by Aancor Holdings Inc on
April 29, 1986.
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|
Results for year 1986 -
Group pre-tax profit 385 mln crowns vs 380 mln
Net turnover 14.17 billion crowns vs 16.69 billion
Dividend eight pct vs nil
Group profit after tax 16 mln crowns vs 244 mln
Reuter
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Shr 55 cts vs 24 cts
Net 1.9 mln vs 800,000
Revs 17.6 mln vs 12.8 mln
Reuter
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Period ended January 31
Shr 61 cts vs 64 cts
Shr diluted 60 cts vs 60 cts
Net 96.5 mln vs 87.0 mln
Loans 44.87 billion vs 48.07 billion
Deposits 69.86 billion vs 68.45 billion
Assets 83.92 billion vs 78.93 billion
Note: shr after preferred dividends
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Triumph Capital Inc said it has signed a
letter of intent to acquire First Securities Transfer Systems
Inc of Pompano Beach, Fla., for undisclosed terms.
The company said it is also entering the commercial finance
business through the formation of Triumph Financial corp.
It said the new wholly-owned unit has extended a 350,000
dlr secured line of credit to Micro Designs Inc.
Reuter
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