GUS stats show sales up by a fifth while profits nearly doubled this quarter...

At the same time, restructuring programs and cost-cutting exercises resulted in costs growing by only 17%, while the net profitability of company turnover improved from 1.3% to 4.7%. "It is another quarter in which the most important economic and financial indicators of companies improved with very noticeable profit dynamics," said Jacek Wiśniewski, an analyst at Pekao SA. Over 42% of those companies analyzed exported goods or services during the period in question and in general saw the value of their foreign sales increase by 36.7% compared to the same time last year. Małgorzata Krzysztofek of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers (PKPP), however, warned that the second quarter might see a slight deterioration. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6) M.M.