Polish Business Survey
Spoilt for choice of cinema
A new player on the cinema development market has entered the stage. It is IT Poland Cinemas, a subsidiary of the Israeli owned IT International Theatres, who are claiming that they are going to invest at least USD150m here in the construction of around fifteen recreational centres. If their plans are realised they will build 200 screens within a few years. They are premiering in the Warsaw shopping centre Best Mall which was built at a cost of USD50m by ITPC and Plaza Centers.
Mooky Greidinger, MD of ITIT says that his company will be working with Plaza Centers in projects in Warsaw, Kraków, Ruda Śląska, Wrocław, Radom, Poznań and Szczecin.
The company still believes that they have a lot of room to manoeuvre not only in Poland but in Central Europe as a whole. The average European goes to the cinema 2.5 times per year compared to five times for the average American. In Poland the average number of annual visits is 0.6 suggesting a yearly sale of 25m - 30m tickets. However the company believes that this figure could soon be up to 100m as the economy grows.
Greidinger says that there is a lot of potential in Poland and believes that there could soon be up to sixty multiplexes across the country. A similar opinion has already been expressed by his competition - Multikino, Silver Screen, Ster Century and Kinepolis amongst others who are all actively pursuing expansion plans. By the end of this year there will be sixteen multiplexes in Poland seating 50,000 people.
ITIT was founded seventy years ago and has stayed a family concern. Three years ago it started to invest in the region with a USD60m entry into Hungary. In the Czech Republic Cinema City has eight screens with another multiplex arriving next year. In Poland the company claims it will employ over 500 people in the next three years.
Court TV
In July Elektrim demanded that Telemar took its sales option to dispose of 51 percent of its shares in PSK cable network, one quarter of which is owned by Aster City Cable, the main supplier of cable TV in Warsaw. Telemar refused on fiscal grounds. The case has just landed in court.
Vattenfall favourite
The Swedish Vattenfall is now the favourite to win the tender for the Silesian energy distributor Górnośląski Zakład Elektroenergetyczny, having put in what appears to be the largest bid. The company bravely admits that it does not intend to invest in the production of energy in Poland on a large scale although it will place funds in distribution.
Purchase power
The German RWE Energie is hoping that the tender for the power distributor GZE will not end with only one investor being chosen by the treasury. If the tender goes to a play off RWE may have a better chance to beat the offer already put in by Vattenfall.
Energy in Gliwice
PSEG Global, occupying third position as the potential investor for GZE says that it hopes to build a large energy group centred around the Upper Silesian city of Gliwice. Win or lose the GZE bid, the American company claims that it is aiming at obtaining a strong position on the Polish market.
Trebling turnover
Piotr Buchner, the new MD of Metalexport says in an interview in today s Puls Biznesu that he hopes to treble turnover soon with profits being around two to five percent of that sum. In 1998 turnover was around PLN1.2bn. This will be achieved through projects with foreign partners in the sectors of wind power, digital telephones and ships for the armed forces. Piotr Buchner, now owns 90.8 percent of Metalexport following a deal last month with the treasury.
Sticky decision
The American Columbia Forest may become the strategic investor in adhesives producer Paged-Sklejka from Morąg near Olsztyn. If the deal does not go through then the company intends to make a stock market entry with a share issue aimed at raising PLN20m.
Dire straights
A restructuring programme has begun at Huta Ferrum by its new management board. The company is rapidly losing fluidity.
Gdynia shares next year
Shares from the Gdynia shipyard should hit the market around the middle of next year. Around one fifth of them should be sold abroad. Funds raised will be used for the purchase of the Finnish Masa Yards and for the development of Polish Ocean Lines.