In Brief
Most Greek women entrepreneurs still bound by family ties Most Greek businesswomen own very small businesses (employing between one and nine people) in retailing and services, half of them start their activity in their 30s and 70 percent of them started their business themselves, the rest having inherited or bought it, according to a survey conducted by the Central Union of Chambers of Greece, part of the program «Women in Business and Decision-Making.» One in two are high school leavers, eight out of 10 have families, and 60 percent have always been self-employed. The most important problem faced by half the women who started a business was funding, followed by reconciling family and entrepreneurial life and lack of information. Rather curiously, 90 percent of them said they have no active role in decision-making. Perhaps this might be attributed to the fact that many businesses run by men are simply registered in their wives’ name. Titan reports stronger performance in nine months Titan Cement said yesterday nine-month net profit rose 46 percent on a higher contribution to operating performance from international units, including the United States. Net profit stood at 127 million euros ($168.6 million) for the first nine months of the year compared with 87 million euros ($115.5 million) last year. Titan said that market conditions improved in the United States despite being hurt by hurricanes in Florida in the third quarter. As expected, domestic demand in Greece fell in the third quarter after its pre-Olympic Games peak. While domestic demand in Egypt remains weak, price recovery was maintained as a result of channeling excess production toward exports. Revenue rose to 829 million euros from 780 million and EBITDA to 243 million from 215 million euros. Credit Suisse First Boston said before the announcement of the results it had cut its rating on Titan to «underperform» from «neutral,» expecting weaker performance. Geniki loss Geniki Bank, majority-owned by France’s Societe Generale, reported a 105.6-million-euro loss in the first nine months of the year yesterday versus a 11.4-million profit in the year-ago period. Net interest income rose 15.4 percent to 98 million euros ($127.8 million) but commission income fell 12.4 percent to 28.2 million euros, the bank said. Provisions for non-performing loans increased to 116.3 million euros from 17 million, in line with the strategic investor’s credit risk policy. (Reuters) Intracom Telecoms equipment maker Intracom reported a 15.7 percent drop in nine-month pretax profits to 28.4 million euros, in line with its guidance, according to its results published yesterday. Sales fell 2.6 percent to 446.16 million euros ($581.7 million), also in line with company guidance, the statement showed. Earlier this month the telecommunications, IT and electronic defense systems company forecast an drop of about 13 percent in full-year net profits to 44 million euros. Sales were seen down around 2 percent at 625 million euros. (Reuters)
