Raiffeisen and Credit Suisse predict lower TP SA profit

Two major investment banks, Raiffeisen Zentralbank and Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), lowered their profit forecasts for Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TP SA), possibly causing the 2% drop in TP SA stock in yesterday's trading on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, closing at zl.26.5. Raiffeisen was particularly critical, lowering its valuation of TP SA stock from zl.25 to zl.19.5 and changing its recommendation to "sell.". The 2001 profit forecast was lowered to zl.1.43 billion. The bank does not believe that TP SA will invest zl.27 billion over the next three years as declared in its strategy. According to Raiffeisen, TP SA's strategic investor France Telekom has not fully agreed to these investment plans, and in the end investment could be as low as zl.16.5 billion. CSFB lowered its forecast for TP SA's 2001 profit from zl.1.5 billion to zl.1.37 billion. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p.21) T.J.