In Brief: Bank Handlowy profit forecast; Odfjell, SSN; Softbank, Prokom

"This year our net profit will be decidedly better than last year," said Cezary Stypulkowski, CEO of Bank Handlowy, the Polish division of Citigroup on the sidelines of a banking conference. It was not immediately clear whether he was referring to group or unconsolidated profits. Handlowy's group net was zl. 194 million last year, and its parent net was zl. 185 million. Citigroup owns over 90% of Handlowy. (Reuters) ... Norwegian Odfjell renewed co-operation with the New Szczecin Shipyard (SSN) after withdrawing from contracts worth $440 million in August when the shipyard announced bankruptcy. "On Tuesday we will sign a deal with Odfjell concerning delivery of chemical cargo carriers," announced Grazyna Zabrocka, deputy head of SSN. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) ... Today will almost certainly see the announcement of the acquisition of a 33% stake in Softbank by Gdynia-based systems integrator Prokom. "The negotiations are complete and the price is set. Now all that is left is the signatures on the agreement," said a source close to the negotiations. (Puls Biznesu, p. 10) A.K.