Vincon's net income halves

Vincon Vrancea, one of the major wine producers on the domestic market, saw its net income go down by half to 375,000 euros (1.34 million RON) in the first half of this year from the similar period of 2005. The company’s turnover went past 11 million euros (39.2 million RON), up 2% in RON compared with the January-July 2005 period. “The profit decline was triggered by the amortisation of investments, as well as by the upgrade and repair programme that is taking considerable financial resources,” stated Luchi Georgescu, chairperson of Vincon Vrancea board. Vincon expects this year’s turnover to go up by 30%, to 130 million RON (35 million euros). Last year, the company reported turnover worth 104 million RON (30 million euros), up 50% from 2004. The company currently exploits over 2,150 hectares of vineyard located in several winegrowing regions. The wine market last year amounted to around 350m euros, with Murfatlar, Vincon, Cotnari and Jidvei as the main players.