SLOVENIA
Krka posts record quarterly sales, profit at EUR 49.4m
Slovenia's pharma group Krka posted EUR 338.3m in sales in the first quarter of the year, an all-time quarterly high and a 5% increase on the same period last year. Net profit was up by 16% to EUR 49.4m.
Source: STA
Slovenian railways generate EUR 2.6m in quarterly profit
Slovenske Železnice, the operator of Slovenian railways, generated a net profit of EUR 2.6m in the first quarter of the year; the operating profit amounted to EUR 2.5m and revenue to EUR 119m.
Source: STA
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Dow drops nearly 200 points after Trump says he's not satisfied with China trade talks, North Korea summit may not happen; Europe closes higher amid earnings; autos gain on China tariff cut; Altice rallies 19%
U.S. stocks dropped on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said a highly anticipated summit with North Korea may not happen after all. The president also said he is not satisfied with U.S.-China trade talks. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 178.88 points to close at 24,834.41 as Boeing shares declined 2.5 percent. The S&P 500 declined 0.3 percent, while Nasdaq composite lost 0.2 percent to close at 7,378.46.
Stocks started the session trading higher after China said it will reduce levies on automakers and car parts. Shares of Ford and General Motors rose on the news, gaining 0.1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. Tesla initially rose more than 1 percent before sliding 3.3 percent.
European stocks closed higher Tuesday, due to same reason as well as pressure on Italian markets eased. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.27 percent, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
Autos were among those to lead the gains, up almost 1 percent after China's Finance Ministry said it would cut the import duty on passenger cars to 15 percent from current levels of 25 percent. The announcement, which came Tuesday, also said tariffs on some automotive parts would fall to 6 percent. Schaeffler and BMW were trading more than 2.5 percent higher following the news.
Source: CNBC, Ilirika
SERBIA
MTLC: Metalac reported 13.1% drop in FY 2017 consolidated net profit, on appearance of financial loss
Metalac (MTLC) reported RSD 490m in its FY 2017 consolidated net profit, down 13.1% y/y, on appearance of financial loss. Unfavorable FX rate was a main reason for negative financial result. The company’s operating sales, came in at RSD 9.3bn, up 7.3% y/y, mainly in line with the company’s expectations. Operating profit was up 19.1% to RSD 623m, on higher sales and improved operating profitability.
Source: APR
AERO: Agreement on Air Transport signed with Canada
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, met with Ambassador Stephane Dion, the special envoy to the European Union and former minister of foreign affairs of Canada, on May 21, 2018. As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia announced, the two officials signed the Agreement on Air Transport, deemed a very important step in the strengthening of the bonds of the two countries and their citizens.
Source: Ekapija
Azvirt to work on bypass route around Belgrade – Azerbaijani investors interested in building luxury hotels in Serbia
Serbia and Azerbaijan signed a joint action plan on strategic partnership between the two countries on Monday, May 21, 2018, and the first step in the realization of this document is an agreement to have the Azerbaijani company Azvirt engaged in the completion of the works on the bypass route around Belgrade, which will be financed without additional loans, Novosti reports. Also, investors from this country are interested in building luxury hotels in the capital of Serbia.
Source: Ekapija
