Sanwil considers huge share issue to bankroll operations in the East

The listed artificial leather producer Sanwil will increase its capital to zł.3.76 million. The decision to issue new shares will probably be made during its shareholders meeting scheduled for August 26th. Considering the present nominal value of Poznań-based Sanwil's stock (zł.13.5 on Wednesday) the company could issue as much as 2.5 million shares. It is still not known, however, when exactly the share issue would take place. "It is a long way to go. It gives us a possibility which we will be able to use when we need it," said Sanwil's president Krzysztof Tytko. The money raised from the new issue would help the company considerably as it currently expanding its operations in Ukraine and plans to enter the Russian market as well. Sanwil also wants to invest in new machinery and production lines and take over smaller local competitors. In recent years the company had poor financial results. Q1 of 2004 was the first period it managed to post a profit and by the end of the year it plans to earn as much as zł.1.5 million. (Parkiet, p. 6) D.W.