In Brief: ComArch buys its bonds back; LOT; Softbank; Tobacco sales

Kraków-based IT company ComArch decided to prematurely redeem 1100 of its series A convertible bonds for over zł.10 million. ComArch issued the bonds in 2002 with the aim of spending the funds raised from the sale on acquisitions, but as it did not find anything interesting to take over, so it decided to repurchase the bonds to avoid paying further interest to the bondholders. (Parkiet, p. 4) ... LOT Polish Airlines has signed a code share agreement with Air Canada. As a result LOT will offer its customers flights not only to Toronto but to more than ten Canadian cities. (Puls Biznesu, p. 12) ... Softbank, an IT company, has signed an annex to its contract with bank PKO BP dated October 2003 which widens the agreement for the sale of software licenses. The value of the the additional agreement amounts to zł.3.8 million. (Parkiet, p. 4) ... Only a handful of producers have managed to improve their results in the face of excise hikes, smuggling and increasing sales of rolling tobacco. Revenues from sales increased by 3.1% yoy in the January-May period, but the quantity of cigarettes sold was 1 billion lower than last year. Gallaher and British American Tobacco claim they are happy about their sales in the first half of the year, while Philip Morris declined to reveal its results. (Puls Biznesu, p. 12) E.B.