Generali Pensii: It’s hard to make a six-month plan now
The market of mandatory private pensions has become much more concentrated, from 18 funds in January 2009, to just 9 at the end of the year, after the takeovers conducted by BCR and Eureko, but the top players of the ranking will remain the same, says Anne-Marie Mancas, investment manager of Generali Fond de Pensii (Generali Pension Fund), the third largest player on this market. “The fact that small funds are withdrawing is no big surprise, because it is hard to stay on the market if you don’t have a critical mass. And this year is a difficult one, a year of crisis, as well as an election year. This will be a very interesting time. It’s very hard to devise a strategy over a six-month period, and currently the markets are not even hoping for a revival yet.” Mancas does not think the absorption of smaller funds by the large ones carries the “danger” of losing the No. 3 position on the market. “The top three positions are quite clear-cut. Even in the wake of the mergers, Generali’s market share remains larger than that of the players that follow it,” says Mancas. ZF
Travel agencies: Every day is a fierce battle for clients
Travel agencies on the Romanian market say their revenues have continued to decline by 10 to 20% in the first five or six months of this year, and that every day is a “battle for clients.” However, the number of packages sold for foreign destinations is 5% higher than last year, with only the number of packages sold for the Romanian seaside down 4%. Christian Tour, held by Cristian Pandel, with almost 12 million euros in turnover last year, posted sales worth 9.5 million euros in the first six months of this year, similar to those recorded in the same period of last year, but with a profit close to zero. “We had a lot of discounted holiday packages, so we managed to attract an almost 10% higher number of tourists against the first half of last year, but at the expense of our profit, which is close to zero,” said Cristian Pandel. Whereas Pandel says the battle has already been waged, Mircea Vladu, owner of Prestige Tours agency, believers the “battle for tourists” starts in July. “We are putting all our efforts into selling holiday packages. Whereas so far, early booking packages sold better, now, in July, the real battle begins,” Vladu said. ZF
Brick market down 35%
The brick market fell by 35% on average in the first six months of the year, a lot higher than initial estimates, pointing to a 5-10% decline, due to the lack of funding in the constructions sector, which is not going to improve in the second half of the year, because manufacturers are not getting new orders when it comes to civil engineering works. What were the consequences of the reduction in consumption? Wienerberger, the largest manufacturer on the market, closed two of its three plants, and the other players slowed down the pace of investments. Under the circumstances, brick consumption could fall to around 155-160 million euros from 240-250 million euros last year, after recording a 20% rise last year. “According to our estimates, the market fell by 35% on average in the first six months. Causes include the lack of funding, the crisis of the national economy, the lack of job security and the lack of liquidity: it was in particular the lack of money from the state budget that blocked many projects, with a lot of builders being unable to pay their suppliers because they have to receive money from the state budget,” says Iulian Mangalagiu, general manager of Ceramica Iasi. ZF
Autoworld sees business decline by 27%
Cluj-based Autoworld, a regional dealer of the Volskswagen and Audi brands, posted an over 10 million-euro (42.50 million-RON) turnover in the first five months of this year, down 27% against the similar period of last year. The dealer sold 271 cars in the first five months of this year, an over 39% decline against the similar period of last year. Out of the 271 cars sold, 228 were Volkswagen cars and 43 Audis. “The Romanian imported car market went down by around 58% in the first five months of this year because of the more difficult access to financial resources, to companies’ reduced revenues and to economic and political uncertainties. The future of the automotive market is not very likely to see the spectacular rises of the last few years, although at the moment unprecedented promotions for automotive products and services are being conducted,” said Diana Socaciu, marketing manager of Autoworld. The best-selling cars in the first five months of this year were Volkswagen Golf, with 66 units and Audi A6 with 11 units. ZF