Edible oil producer Unirea Iasi, held by the US' Bunge Corp., saw net sales of 1,354bn ROL (33 million euros) in the first half, twice as high as those during the same period last year, which reached 666bn ROL (nearly 18 million euros).
Its RASDAQ filings do not provide any details as to the situation of the profit and loss account.
Debt fell 302bn ROL to 906bn ROL mid-year. Investments in the first half stood at 9.9bn ROL and were self-funded.
The shareholders endorsed establishing guarantees in the form of mortgages and liens on the company's corporeal and non-corporeal assets up to $40 million, made out to lender KBBV (Rotterdam, Netherlands). Unirea is listed on the RASDAQ and last traded for 1,340 ROL/share. Bunge owns 81% in the company.
Bunge, whose sales amount to $14bn worldwide, holds two more edible oil producers in Romania - Muntenia Bucharest and Interoil Oradea.
Bunge's Romanian business in 2003 was worth $58 million (consolidated turnover), up 12% from the previous year, but below the $65 million estimates.
The Americans plan to boost turnover to $100 million in the next three years. Bunge hopes to attain 45%-47% of the oil market, which is quite fragmented at the moment.
Surveys carried out by the research company GfK show Bunge's Romanian brands, Floriol, Unisol, Muntenia, Horea, Raza Soarelui, concluded last year with a 36% market share compared with 27% at the end of 2002, turning the Americans into the market leaders.
stelian.negrea@zf.ro
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