Vegetal oil producer Argus Constanta will conclude the year with 40 million euro turnover, the same as last year. If calculated in ROL, the company's turnover is 100bn ROL higher than in 2003, namely 1,600bn ROL compared with 1,500bn ROL.
"At the same time the profit in ROL will be higher this year than in 2003, while for next year we estimate an about 7-8% higher turnover than the one we'll post this year," says Vasile Leu, Argus Constanta's general manager. He did not care to provide a 2004 profit estimate, however.
Leu says the company has a series of investments scheduled for 2005 in order to develop the raw material storage capacity, as well as the capacity of the refined edible oil bottling line. "We have a series of investment programmes, but it is too soon to talk about their value at the moment," Argus Constanta's general manager added.
The company logged 1.3 million euro (53.6bn ROL) net profit for the first half, nearly four times higher than in the same time last year, while the turnover stood at 19 million euros (760.9bn ROL). On the other hand, the total revenues shrank compared with 2003 from 20 million euros to nearly 18.5 million euros, while spending fell to 16.5 million euros from 19 million euros.
Argus estimates it is the second leading player on the market, accounting for approximately 20-21% of it. The market leader is still Bunge Romania, followed by Cargill, which has recently taken over the two oil factories of Topway Industries, Ultex Tandarei and Agricover Buzau. Argus sells its products on both the domestic market and the international market.
Argus Constanta's main shareholder is Vasile Leu, who owns 11.44%. The Argus management and employees currently hold a stake that allows them to make decisions as to where the company is headed, yet once the Employee Association was disbanded, they started to sell. This is one of the reasons why the second most significant shareholder of Argus is now SIF Oltenia, which has come to control more than 10% in the oil producer following recent transactions.
stelian.negrea@zf.ro
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
