President until autumn

The supervisory board of fuel company Lotos replaced just one member of the firm's management board and decided that the company's president, Paweł Olechnowicz, should keep his position. After Treasury Minister Wojciech Jasiński said last week that the conservative-led cabinet planned to look for a new president at Poland's second-largest fuel producer, changes were widely expected, especially considering the fact that Olechnowicz was one of the few heads of large state-owned enterprises that survived management reshuffles after the change of government.

But changes at the top of Lotos could still occur. The supervisory board has decided to hold a competition for the post of president as well as for positions on the management board, which should take place in two to three months. Some investors believe that if Olechnowicz decides to apply for the job, he could retain it. But the chief executive did not reveal whether he would apply.

"When I know the details of the hiring process, I will consider whether to take part in it," Olechnowicz said.

The Lotos president received unlikely support from Lotos' trade unions, which sent a letter to the Prime Minister protesting against the competition for the position of president.

Olechnowicz's candidacy is supported by the company's financial results. Grupa Lotos, which is 59-percent owned by the state, posted revenues of zł.9.6 billion and a net profit of zł.930 million in 2005, 29.5 percent and 71.4 percent more respectively than 2004's figures. Lotos shareholders decided the group would not pay a dividend for 2005, and instead would retain the funds for planned investments.