SIF Oltenia budgets 20m-euro profit

SIF Oltenia has budgeted the highest profit among the SIFs for this year, with the company estimating to post a net profit worth 70.4 million RON (20.1 million euros at a 3.5 RON/euro average exchange rate) in 2006. For 2006, the SIFs forecast increases in RON of 5.7 to 28.8% for the net profit, with the exception of SIF Moldova, which has budgeted a profit 18.7% lower than that seen last year. This year SIF Oltenia”s profit is expected to see the biggest growth, mainly due to the transaction of the stake it owned in Sicomed to the Czechs at Zentiva. SIF Oltenia thus posted some 60% of the profit it budgeted for 2006 just in the first three months of the year. SIF Muntenia, the other company, which liquidated its stake in Sicomed at the beginning of this year, had achieved some 80% of its 64.28 million RON (18.36 million euro) profit budgeted for this year. This company”s profit for 2006 would be 22.7% higher than that seen in 2005, according to the budget estimate. ZF