Prokom Software announces Q3 results and future plans

The consolidated profit of Prokom Software for the third quarter of 2002 amo unted zl. 3.2 million, in contrast to a loss of z. 29 million in the same pe riod last year says the company's report, published on Friday. The result is worse than the forecasts of analysts who estimated it at zl. 10 million. They were, however, pleasantly surprised by the operational profit of zl. 52 .9 million compared to their forecast of zl. 40.8 million. Prokom's revenues increased to zl. 265.2 million from zl. 198.2 million in the June-September period of last year. At a Friday press conference, Prokom President Ryszard Krauze maintained the company profit forecast of zl. 100 million at the end of 2002. Krauze also announced that Prokom intends to bid for a majo r contract for development of an IT system for the country's biggest retail bank, PKO BP, the value of which may reach as much as zl. 2 billion. He also announced that in the first quarter of 2003, Prokom is to start work on a contract with Softbank under which the former will become Softbank's st rategic investor. In related news, Gazeta Wyborcza has learned unofficially that Prokom Software intends to purchase PZU NFI Management which manages three investment funds: NFI Progress, Drugi NFI and the Kwiatk owski NFI. It is notlyet known how Prokom will obtain the financial resource s necessary for the purchase. (Gazeta Wyborcza, Nov. 15-16; p. 32) A.Z.