PGF's earnings hit by slow growth and strong złoty

The group has not published its financial statement for Q4 2004, but according to initial estimates, the firm's total 2004 revenues were zł.3.65 billion. PGF had hoped that they would amount to zł.4 billion. "The projections for 2004 were made on the assumption that the market would grow by 10%. Both analysts and our competitors also held this belief. However, the value of the market increased only by 2%," explained Grzegorz Dróżdż, PGF's spokesman. According to the company, the sluggish market growth was partly due to the strengthening of złoty. As a result of the lowering value of USD and Euro drugs' prices did not increase, and in some cases they even fell. PGF has not changed its 2005 projections and maintains that the market will grow by 8-9% this year. (Parkiet, p. 5) A.F.