SIFs log 65m-euro profit

The five financial investment companies (SIFs) have ended the first eleven months of the year with profits amounting to 2,539 billion ROL (65 million euros), three of these institutions having logged significant increases in earnings as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Early this year, the SIF officials had forecast small profit spurs, or even drops. Last year brought smaller profits for banks, which reflected into the level of dividends they distributed in 2004. Banking stocks make up the bulk of the SIFs’ portfolio, sometimes accounting for more than 50%, which means that the safest source of revenues for the financial investment companies in the past five years have been the dividends paid by banks.

Still, some of the SIFs managed to offset the drop of dividend-related revenues by selling stakes for higher prices than the levels registered in the accounting books.

SIF Transilvania, which posted the highest profit among SIFs in eleven months this year, sold almost 10% in Rompetrol Rafinare in 2004, which allowed it to log exceptional results. The company’s profit amounts, after the first eleven months, to 823 billion ROL (21.1 million euros), the equivalent of more than 1,500 ROL/share.

The highest profit growth of all the five SIFs was posted by SIF Oltenia, which reported profit was up 163% after the first eleven months of 2004 as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
vlad.nicolaescu@zf.ro