Romania Feed

Romania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate grew by 0.1 percentage points to 5.1% on the month in July 2021, data from the country's statistics board showed Wednesday.

Adrian Cocan, general manager of Agroserv Mariuta, the company behind Laptaria cu Caimac brand, says the company’s revenues leapt by over 50% in the first half of this year.

Romania's property investment market drops in line with the trend in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), but the activity and perspectives remain favorable, per a report of real estate consulting firm Colliers.

Appraisal & Valuation, the holder of the NAI Romania brand, active on the appraisal market, has acquired audit and accounting services firm Simad Contex, based in western city of Timisoara, with a turnover of RON402,190 in 2020 and over 150 active clients.

Romania's finance ministry will be launching three new bond issues for the general population on September 1, 2021, which can be subscribed until September 28.

Romanian state-owned hydropower producer Hidroelectrica ended the first half of 2021 with a net profit of RON2.1 billion (EUR430 million), almost 2.2-fold higher than in the same period in 2020, per data from a report of property restitution fund Fondul Proprietatea, a minority shareholder of Hidroelectrica.

Holcim Romania, the biggest producer of construction materials domestically, announced it opened a new eco-friendly concrete station, in Tunari locality, Ilfov county, where it is set to manufacture and sell the first range of green concrete in the industry, with 30% fewer CO2 emissions.

Photovoltaic energy producer MW Green Power Export listed on Tuesday (August 31) its second issue of bonds on the Multilateral Trading System (MTS) of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), under the ticker symbol MWGP24.

Property restitution fund Fondul Proprietatea (FP.RO) on Tuesday reported it ended the first half of this year with net assets of RON11.4 billion, up 11.3% from the beginning of the year, in line with ZF calculations.

Romania's nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica (SNN.RO) said in a stock market report Tuesday that it concluded a contract worth RON267.3 million with Enel Energie.

Regional investment fund SIF Banat-Crisana (SIF1.RO) sold its 10% ownership stake in BT Asset Management (BT AM) to lender Banca Transilvania, in the second quarter of 2021, per ZF’s aggregate data.

Sphera Franchise Group (SFG.RO), the operator of the KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut brands in Romania, reported consolidated sales of RON444.5 million in the first six months of 2021, up 46% on the year, and a net profit of RON5.2 million, from a loss of RON22 million in the same period in 2020, due mostly to record second-quarter results, per its financial report.

Romanian state-run aircraft repair and maintenance company IAR Brasov (IARV.RO) for the first six months of 2021 reported net profit worth RON18.2 million, almost 19% higher against the year-earlier period.

Romcarbon, a major plastic packaging producer in Romania, in the first six months of this year registered overall sales worth RON123 million, up 38%, and net profit of RON3.2 million, compared with RON35,941 losses in the corresponding period of 2020.

MAM Bricolaj (MAM.RO), a supplier of materials and furniture accessories, held by the Gavan family, ended the first half of 2021 with a turnover of RON24.9 million, up 47.7% on the year, and a profit of RON504,531, down 78% on the year.

Pandemic year 2020, a year dedicated to home repair and improvement, brought DIY market players profit increases even as high as over 100% against 2019, in line with ZF calculations based on Finance Ministry data.

Health care CFOs consider that financial uncertainty remains their main concern for the period ahead, with two thirds of them expecting revenue growth this year after a significant decrease in 2020, which, however, will be largely offset by continuing growth in costs, according to Deloitte survey "The changing role of health care finance leaders". At the same time, 68% of participants state that digital technology investments are top capital spending priorities, given that traditional business models have demonstrated their limits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Holde Agri Invest has joined players that have also earmarked a budget to fund innovative projects on the domestic market and by yearend it is likely to announce another two investments in agritech startups, explained Iulian Circiumaru, board chairman of Holde Agri Invest.

Omniasig, the biggest company Austria’s Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) owns in Romania, ended the first half of 2021 with a volume of gross underwritten premiums worth RON730 million, more than 10% higher than in the corresponding period of last year, according to the company’s representatives.

Private medical service operator Medsana, a network of three clinics in Bucharest and Ploiesti controlled by Greek group Athens Medical Center, ended 2020 with turnover worth RON18 million, 27% lower against 2019, in line with Finance Ministry data.