The officials of the Hungarian tile and sanitaryware maker Zalakeramia Rt, which controls Romania-based Cesarom Bucharest, one of the leading players on the domestic market, last week announced Intergazprom-Invest (IGPI) Rt had bought 29.22% in Zalakeramia, Russian Interfax news agency reported.
The companies supposedly held by the Russian Gazprom giant are now holding 51.41% in Zalakeramia, the same source says.
Intergazprom-Invest, primarily a foreign trade company, is 99.95% owned by the London-based Fernmine Limited and its precise ownership link to the Gazprom Group is unknown. However, as Interfax says, IGPI is one of the many Gazprom-related shareholders in the Hungarian financial institution General Banking and Trust (AEB), which itself holds 22.19% in Zalakeramia.
The combined IGPI and AEB stake accounts for 51.41% in Zalakeramia, according to Interfax.
The Romanian tile market estimated at more than $90 million in 2002 sees Cesarom Bucharest competing with two other major producers, Sanex Cluj Napoca, controlled by the Goodison investment fund, and Mondial Lugoj. Statistics show imports of tile (grit stone and faience) covered more than half of the domestic demand last year. Zalakeramia now holds 97.94% in Cesarom. The company last year made 4.5 million euro net profit and 24.5 million euro turnover, which did not go up compared with the previous year, Geza Fordos, Cesarom general manager said. Cesarom officials say it has about 35% in market share and set out to attain 38% of the market this year.
The company management expects to see turnover reach about 28 million euros and profits amount to some 20% of the turnover in 2003.
Cesarom can make up to 4.8 million square metres of tiles and 6,500 tonnes of sanitaryware a year.
It imported about 400,000 square metres of tiles last year, with total sales on the Romanian market reaching 5.2 million square metres, the company officials say.
adrian.mirsanu@zf.ro
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