Armatura doubles profits

Household tap maker Armatura Cluj concluded the first quarter of this year with 16,600 euro (617 million ROL) net profit, nearly double from the same time in 2004. Armatura in the first three months of this year made 1.45 million euro (53.8bn ROL) turnover, up 8% compared with 2004 when sales of the company amounted to 1.34 million euros (54.5bn ROL). This growth is actually due to the decline in the average ROL/EUR exchange rate, with sales in ROL witnessing a slight decline. a??The results in the first quarter generally maintained at the 2004 level, but we must keep in mind that our business is almost seasonal in nature, due to the activity slowdown in the constructions industry during winter. We expect an increase in sales for the next period,a?? commented Aurel Elcean, the companya??s financial manager. Austrian Herz Armaturen became the principal shareholder of the company based in Cluj following the capital increase conducted year this year, with the Austrians now holding 44.7%. ZF