In Brief
Titan confirms strength in first-half results Cement producer Titan beat market expectations with a 53 percent rise in first-half net profit yesterday, thanks to strong growth in its foreign markets and robust demand at home. Net profit rose to 120 million euros compared with a median forecast of 111 million euros in a Reuters poll of eight analysts. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by a better-than-expected 33 percent to 215 million euros. Sales increased by 25 percent to 765 million euros versus a median forecast of 750.5 million euros. «Tight market supply and higher prices across all the geographical areas led to improvements of turnover and EBITDA, while profitability was further increased by lower financing costs compared to the same period last year,» Titan said in a statement. Titan also has operations in the United States, Egypt and Bulgaria. (Reuters) Piraeus Bank issues e-fraud warning Piraeus Bank is warning its clients using electronic banking about online fraudsters, such as those who send e-mail messages themed «Online Banking Verification.» These messages invite users to visit a linked website that is identical to the bank’s Winbank site in English, and to submit their account data for verification. The bank is asking clients to type Winbank’s address themselves, without using a link when they need to access it. Chamber conference Eurochambers, a network of 2,000 regional and local chambers throughout Europe, is hosting its 14th annual conference in Thessaloniki on October 5-6. The event is organized by the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry and titled «Communicating Europe: Sharing the Vision – Delivering the Results.» Serb telecom Telekom Austria, Norway’s Telenor and Egypt’s Orascom have submitted binding bids for Serbia’s mobile operator Mobi 63, a government official said yesterday. Serbia’s Privatization Agency initially short-listed nine non-binding bids, including from Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Sweden’s TeliaSonera and Tele2, Emirates-based Etisalat and Moscow-based Mobile Telesystems OJSC. The winning bidder will be chosen in a televised auction on July 31. (Reuters) Bosnia highway Bosnia plans to build a $4.5 billion north-to-south highway and will offer investors concessions to build and operate eight sections, Communications and Transportation Minister Branko Dokic said yesterday. Dokic said his ministry would publish an international tender after a state commission had approved the concession-model project. «We expect (the tender to be prepared) as soon as possible – the end of September, the first half of October,» Dokic told a news conference. A feasability study, drawn up by a Bosnian-Croatian consortium of 19 firms and an Italian joint venture, said the highway connecting Budapest and the Croatian port of Ploce would cost 6.9 billion Bosnian marka ($4.52 billion). (Reuters)
