Agros Fortuna and Hortex shares up for grabs as season for soft drinks opens

With the onset of spring, producers of drinks and jucies begin to gear-up production and sales. Pernod Ricard, the owner of Agros Holding is going to exclude Agros Fortuna, which produces juices and other fruit and vegetable products, from the group. Agros Holding is trying to sell its stake in Agros Fortuna, but has not yet announced any potential buyer. The company has been restructured and following a loss of zl. 80 million in 2000 it made zl. 700,000 profit in 2001. At the same time EBRD is believed to be trying to sell its stake in Hortex, the best known food products brand on the Polish market. The company's long-term bonds issue has been postponed until October, said head of Hortex Tomasz Kurpisz, adding that the company's financial situation has gained stability, and at the end of it's financial year in May, it will report a zl. 3.5 million operational profit. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) K.S.