Gerovital set to rejuvenate RASDAQ market

Gerovital, one of Romania’s most famous brands across the world, is expected to go public in a move initiated by one of its shareholders, according to officials of RASDAQ market. The listing of Gerovital Cosmetics (former Miraj SA) will be among this year’s highlights, as several hundred companies were delisted from the capital market in 2003.

The General Meetings of Shareholders was supposed to take place yesterday. However, the meeting was rescheduled for today, because of lack of quorum.

Gabriana Radu, deputy general manager at Gerovital, says the company’s majority stockholder, the Association of Employees, has yet to decide how it will vote during the meeting. However, the Gerovital Cosmetics official admitted the company had already contacted a brokerage, which might handle the listing. Also, officials of the RASDAQ market say the company will most certainly go public. “During our last meeting with the company’s representatives, they only had some details left to discuss, such as the event’s timing and the exact way to go public,” Anca Dumitru, head of RASDAQ told Ziarul Financiar.

Gerovital Cosmetics Bucharest is 37% held by the Association of Employees, the Privatisation Authority (APAPS) owns a 9% stake, with the rest of 54% of the company’s capital being held by some 2,600 shareholders resulted from the Mass Privatisation Programme.

The Gerovital brand, which is being disputed under several lawsuits, is now owned by three companies: Sicomed Bucharest holds the right to make drugs under this brand, whereas Gerovital Cosmetics and Farmec Cluj-Napoca are entitled to use the brand for cosmetic products. Gerovital was also the object of a government project, aiming to capitalise on the brand name in order to attract foreign tourists.

Like many Romanian cosmetics companies, Gerovital has been losing ground against the foreign competitors, chiefly because of its meagre advertising budget. The company makes cremes that incorporate the active principles discovered by Ana Aslan in the ’40s, and also various hair care and skincare products.

The company’s financial results are not impressive, but the brand ownership rights may appeal to the foreign investors. According to the Finance Ministry, Gerovital last year posted total revenues worth 63.5 billion ROL ($1.9 million) and net profit worth 363 million ROL ($11,000). According to several brokers, going public may be only the first step towards a change of ownership for Gerovital. The Association of Employees took over its stake in 1996, with its obligations derived from the privatisation contract set to end in 2006. vlad.nicolaescu@zf.ro