Warsaw Stock Exchange Weekly
Top 5 winners
SWISSMED Gdańsk-based Swissmed Centrum Zdrowia was established in 1996. The company provides care to patients from both Poland and abroad. The Swissmed hospital is a 73-bed facility of almost 8,000 sqm and it is the first health-care institution of its kind in Poland. The Swissmed hospital won the title of Construction of the Year 2003, in a prestigious competition organized by the Polish Association of Construction Engineers and Technicians.
PBG Przeźmierowo-based PBG deals with engineering- and gas-related activities. The firm was set up in 1994, and in the beginning it was known as Piecobiogaz, but later become Technologie Gazowe Piecobiogaz in 1997 and then converted into PBG in 2004. The company implements LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) technologies and infrastructure. It issued shares for the first time in 2004 and forecasts that 2006's profits will reach zł.47 million.
PROSPER Warsaw-based Prosper is one of the three biggest Polish pharmaceutical producers and distributors. The company was established in 1990 and became a listed firm in 1999. Since its bourse debut, Prosper has had a constant increase in sales and profits, in 2004 reaching almost zł.1.6 billion. In September 2005 the company launched the first edition of the International Drug Fair.
POLNORD Gdańsk-based Polnord was founded in 1977, became a limited liability company in 1983, and transformed into a joint-stock company in 1991. It debuted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange eight years later and in 2001 merged with Energobudowa. The company deals with the implementation of investment projects as the main contractor, providing construction, installation, renovation and start-up services for works in the energy, industry and environmental protection sectors.
STALEXP Warsaw-based Stalexport is Poland's largest steel capital group. Its scope of activities include production and distribution of steel products, procurement and processing of scrap metal, and non-steel operations such as building the A4 motorway from Katowice to Kraków. Recently the company announced the launch of a new subsidiary, Stalexport Autoroute, based in Luxembourg.
Bottom 5 losers
SKOTAN Skoczów-based Zakłady Garbarskie Skotan is one of the biggest Polish tanneries. Their basic products are calf leather for the manufacture of footwear, pig leather as well as pig splits used for lining and plastic-film-covered leather. The company's exports, which constitute nearly a half of Skotan's production, are directed at EU and US customers. Total annual production amounts to 1.7 million sqm of leather.
ALPRAS Częstochowa-based Alpras, formerly known as Yawal, is a capital group comprised of Yawal-System (a stock-listed producer of technical aluminum goods), Fon (a listed media company) and Paged (sawmills, furniture factories and shops). The group has been restructured due to its financial situation. The main stakeholder is the family of Edmund Mzyk.
IVAXCORP Miami-based Ivax Corporation is the owner of Polfa Kutno, a drug producer. Ivax corporation specializes in research and scientific development projects as well as in the production and sales of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. Apart from investments in Poland, Ivax has also been active recently in Argentina, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Mexico and many more countries. The corporation employs around 9,000 people.
ALCHEMIA Brzeg-based Alchemia deals with the production and trade of manmade materials and the metallurgical and fuel sectors. It belongs to companies controlled by the well-known Polish investor, Roman Karkosik. In its Q4 financial forecast the company said its profits would rise to zł.100 million.
IDMSAPL Kraków-based Internetowy Dom Maklerski was established 11 years ago. Before 2001 it was known as Krakowski Dom Maklerski. It provides various information on market activities. The company has run broker services since 2003 and became a listed company in 2005. The company's new financial forecasts state that its annual 2005 net profit is going to surpass zł.9 million. Moreover, the company said that in the future it would inform the public about net results only.
