Romania Feed

Banca Comerciala Romana Group (BCR) held by Austria’s Erste Group, ended the first quarter with RON424.6 million net profit, slightly lower than in the year-ago period, while net interest income shrank 0.7% to RON593.8 million, as a result of the lower interests on the money market.

Romanian authorities issued 4,456 residential building permits this March, an increase of 39.5% on the previous month and of 38.2% on March 2020. The number of building permits issued reached a 14-year high last month, National Statistics Institute data show.

Exports have come to generate more than 85% of the revenue of the Romanian shirt manufacturer Braiconf (BRCR.RO) in Braila, having increased by 10% during the pandemic.

Retail pharmacy network Catena, the largest actor in pharmaceutical retail in Romania, posted more than RON4.7 billion sales in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Romania's local industrial and logistic market started 2021 on a positive trend as the transacted volumes in the first quarter reached nearly 200,000 square meters, double compared with the same period last year, real estate consulting company Cushman & Wakefield Echinox said in a report Thursday.

Shareholders of Evergent Investments (EVER.RO), formerly SIF Moldova, approved Thursday the distribution of a gross dividend of 0.043/share, or RON42.5 million in total.

Romanian airline Blue Air introduces two daily Bucharest – London Heathrow flights starting April 30, it announced Thursday.

Average asking prices for housing in Romania grew 2.2% in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the fourth quarter of 2020, and the annual growth rate slowed to 3% on lower demand and increased supply, a market report by Imobiliare.ro showed Thursday.

Generics manufacturer Zentiva Group on Thursday reported sales of around RON1.05 billion in Romania in 2020, of which its factory in Bucharest generated RON558 million, 1% lower than in 2020, the company said in its annual report.

LEKTRI.CO, one of the leading players in the field of electric mobility in Romania, expects to sell 1,000 electric vehicle charging stations until the end of 2021, both in Romania and on international markets where the brand is present.

The Romanian State, the majority shareholder of power grid operator Transelectrica (TEL.RO), on Thursday called on the company to summon a new general meeting of shareholders in order to approve the financial statements for 2020 and the distribution of dividends from the profit registered on December 31.

Sphera Franchise Group, the company operating in franchise system the brands KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in Romania, targets restaurant sales of over EUR230 million in 2021, higher by 63% than the level reported in 2020, with a quarter of sales being expected to be generated by the delivery channel.

Rompetrol Rafinare (RRC.RO), part of KMG International Group, has budgeted a turnover of USD2.2 billion and a loss of USD60.7 million for 2021, according to the company’s 2021 budget of revenue and expenditure approved by shareholders on Thursday.

The COVID-19 pandemic has partially changed the behavior of consumers in the car market. Some of them have postponed their plans to buy a new car, and their interest in engines with alternative propulsion systems is temporarily declining. Although the trend towards electric cars seems to be consolidating on the long term, consumers tend to look for the comfort of a known, tested and accessible technology, in the current context dominated by uncertainty, according to Deloitte 2021 GlobalAutomotive Consumer Study, conducted in 23 countries around the world.

Romania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 5.5% in March 2021, the lowest level since December 2020 and lower by 0.2 percentage points from 5.7% in February 2021, data from the country's statistics board showed Thursday.

OMV Petrom, Romania's sole producer of oil and gas, ended the first quarter of 2021 with sales of RON4.8 billion, down 20% on the year, and a net profit of RON573 million, down 12% on the year, per the company’s financial report.

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Biofarm (BIO.RO) has budgeted RON47.4 million (almost EUR10 million) for investments in 2021, most of which or about 70% will go towards equipping the new production facility, one of the few new pharmaceutical plants in Romania in the last few years.

L’Oréal Romania posted an increase in sales in 2020 despite the pandemic that led to a decline of the cosmetics and care product market. It also budgeted double-digit growth this year.

Eyewear retailer Videt posted RON12 million sales in 2020, an 80% increase year-on-year, and expects sales to at least double this year, says founder Alexandru Alecu.

While the Bucharest Stock Exchange’s BET index recovered from the March 2020 slump, caused by the coronavirus crisis, in December 2020, on April 27 it was time for the capitalization to recover from the shock of last year’s spring.