Romportmet goes into construction supplies

Harbour operator Romportmet Galati is to invest $4.5 million in a production line for pavement tiles. Until now, the company’s core business had been provision of harbour services in Galati Harbour. Its main shareholder is the investment fund Broadhurst, which is controlled by New Century Holdings (NCH). Funds managed by NCH began to direct part of their investments to the construction supplies sector in recent years, a sector that has seen high growth in profits and turnover since the beginning of the year. Broadhurst is the majority shareholder (55%) in construction supplies producer Elpreco Craiova and used it to submit a bid during the privatisation of the brick, tile and burnt clay products manufacturer Soceram Bucharest, which is 80% state-owned. Romportmet Galati, which is 78% owned by Broadhurst, made 84bn ROL ($2.5 million) in net profits in the first half of the year, up 15% on the same period for 2003, and saw turnover of 214bn ROL ($6.4 million), up 30% from the first half of last year. ZF