Orbis announces bumper dividends and a return to its main business

The board of directors of Orbis, the biggest Polish operator of hotels, plans to sell its 9.7% stake in Autostrada Wielkopolska and 10% stake in Polcard. Over the last few years the company has invested in several ventures not directly connected with the hotel industry, now the company wants to revert to its main business activity. The overwhelming source of revenue for Orbis is hotel management. The company plans to finalize the takeover of 14 hotels, owned currently by Accor of France, a strategic investor in Orbis with 25% of its shares. Next, they plan to sell their hotels that duplicate the French network. Orbis has announced that from its almost zl. 51 million net profit achieved in 2001, it wants to pay zl 18.4 million dividends to shareholders. The company also commented that paying this dividend will be one way to positively influence market appraisal of its shares and the trust of investors. However these efforts were not appreciated by the stock exchange as the price of its shares did not increase by the end of the Tuesday's trading. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 23; Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 7; Puls Biznesu, p. 27) P.W.