Turbomecanica profits down 16% in H1

Turbomecanica Bucharest, the only manufacturer of jet and turbojet engines in Eastern Europe, saw its turnover rise by 16% in H1 to reach 12.1 million euros, whilst profits dropped 16.5% to 1.2 million euros. Turbomecanica works for Rolls Royce and General Electric and has faced a slump in profits this year due to price rises for utilities, especially electricity, as well as the strengthening of the domestic currency. Company officials were unavailable to provide any further details. Turbomecanica still managed to be more profitable in the second quarter than the first, with the company ending Q1 with 50,000 euros in gross profits, a drop of 84% compared with the same time in 2004. It expects its full year profits for 2005 to fall by more than 10% to 4.8 million euros, caused by less profitable exports. Turbomecanica hopes to generate 26.5 million euros in revenues in 2005 (compared with 25 million euros in 2004). ZF