Cement firm Titan posted a 3 percent drop in second-quarter net profit yesterday due to slowing growth in the domestic market after the 2004 Olympics and higher financial costs. Net profit fell to 51 million euros, with first-half net profit up 2 percent to 78 million euros. “Net profit for the group was held back by higher financial costs, depreciation and taxes,” Titan said in a statement. Titan said strong growth in its foreign operations, especially in the United States, more than offset the drop in domestic demand. It forecast an increased contribution from international units for the rest of 2005. It said efficiency improvements and price adjustments only partly offset rising fuel costs. (Reuters)

Greece’s currency earnings from shipping topped 7.07 billion euros in the January-June 2005 period, against 6.51 million in the same period of 2004, according to provisional data by the Bank of Greece. In June alone currency inflows amounted to 1.20 billion euros, against 1.15 billion a year earlier.

Private carrier Aegean Airlines announced it will raise its ticket prices by 3 euros per flight for all domestic and international flights from September 12 due to the increase of the price of oil, now hovering around $67 per barrel.

Hellenic Duty Free Shops yesterday posted a 2.1 percent rise in first-half group net profit to 15.5 million euros. Group sales fell by 9.6 percent to 102.8 million euros. The firm said sales would have shown a 12 percent increase if Efsimon had been excluded from the comparative period. HDFS has exclusive rights for the duty free business in the country until 2048. (Reuters)

EFG Eurobank has agreed to acquire 49 percent of Serbia’s National Savings Bank, boosting its total stake to about 60 percent, Greece’s third-largest lender by assets said yesterday. National Savings Bank has a network of 70 branches in Serbia and total assets of 122 million euros. (Reuters)

Construction company J&P Avax has signed a 163 million euro ($200 million) agreement to complete a 12 km tunnel for a new rail track in central Greece, it said yesterday. The company said the project for Erga OSE, a subsidiary of Hellenic Railways Organization, will take 40 months to complete. (Reuters)

Holding company Lamda Development, active in real estate, reported a 1.3 percent drop in first-half group earnings, year-on-year, to 33.5 million euros. It said the main reason for the deterioration were losses of 5.3 million from its subsidiary developing the Flisvos marina south of Athens, where work has been suspended by the Council of State.

Listed vehicle trade company Motodynamics yesterday recalled two Yamaha WaveRunners jet ski models, the VX1100 Sport and the VX1100A Deluxe. The sea vehicles will undergo free technical inspection for two electrical system parts that may get rusty, causing problems to the engine. Some 50 WaveRunners of the above models have been sold in Greece.