Alprom to rebound in 2006

Pitesti-based furniture manufacturer Alprom estimates that turnover will increase to some 26 million euros this year, after a slight decline in 2005. “The year 2005 was a difficult one for Alprom Pitesti, if we take into account the fact that furniture exports account for more than 90% of our furniture production, and export prices went down 10-15%, due to the strengthening of the RON,” stated Violeta Anton, the financial manager of Alprom. The company made 23 million euro turnover in 2004, while profits stood at some 1.4 million euros. “Our sales in 2005 were 5-10% lower than in the previous year,” Anton said. Profits, however, went down at a faster rate. “We estimate profits to be less than 50% of the 2004 profit, at the end of 2005,” Anton said. The main problem by far, faced by Romanian furniture producers, was the strengthening of the RON against the euro, the Alprom official believes. ZF