Hortex shareholders mismanagement case dismissed by court, appeal possible

Several minority shareholders in fruit and vegetable processing company Hortex Holding S.A. tried to prove in court that the company is mismanaged, but their claim has been rejected. They motioned for the annulment of the decisions of the Hortex shareholders' meeting in November 1999. If they had won, they would have sued the management. "I found out from a friend working in a Hortex plant that the company bought a zl. 1 million machine for processing cauliflowers, which was never in operation. I therefore think the management is wasting our money," said one of the shareholders. Hortex recorded a profit of zl. 26 million for the fiscal year ending in May 1998. A year later it had zl. 43 million loss, while general management costs grew from zl. 79 million to zl. 136 million. After losing in court, the minority shareholders are hoping that a report the Supreme Board of Inspection (NIK) is preparing on Hortex, will provide grounds for appeal. (Gazeta Wyborcza, April 15-16, page 33) T.J.