PML's numbers finally up?

The company used to enjoy strong performance in communist Poland, and even during the early 90s. when it posted turnovers of between 20 and 90 million zloty. In the second half of the 90s., though, its turnover started to rapidly decline. In 1999 lottery tickets introduced by the second state company - Totalizator Sportowy was the proverbial nail in the coffin for PML. Today PML has but a few employees and is based in a hotel in the Warsaw district Praga. Upon receiving information on PML's dire financial state, the Treasury Minister filed a motion to announce bankruptcy. The court rejected it, though, explaining that the minister could simply cancel the company. This final decision is yet to be made, however, as PML has a foreign investor, a Greek company Intralot. If it were canceled the investor could claim damages from the state. To prevent this, the state will try to prove the investor did not fulfill privatization promises. The Greeks, however, prefer to earn much more on video lottery than enter a long-lasting battle with the state over a fraction of possible profits. (Puls Biznesu p.10)