European Business News (EBN), 97-06-03

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Page last updated Tue, June 03 6:52 PM CET

CONTENTS

[01] Bonn reaches compromise with Bundesbank over gold revaluation plan

[02] Van Miert says he will approve merger of Cie. de Suez and Lyonnaise des Eaux

[03] Yeltsin seeks quick action on tax reform

[04] Deutsche Telekom faces anti-competitiveness investigation

[05] Racal full year pretax profit falls 28%

[06] U.S. April leading indicators index decreases 0.1%

[07] Carlsberg posts 17% rise in first half pretax profit

[08] Vodafone posts record pretax profit for full year up 13%

[09] More voices raised on both sides of EMU discussion

[10] National Grid full year pretax profit down 4%

[11] Israel exspected to sell El Al

[12] De La Rue full year pretax profit drops 28%

[13] Corporate and Economic Briefs

[14] World News Briefs

[01] Bonn reaches compromise with Bundesbank over gold revaluation plan

German Finance Minister Theo Waigel said the agreement forged with the Deutsche Bundesbank on the revaluation of the country's gold and currency reserves is a 'good compromise' that doesn't represent a defeat for the government.

The Frankfurt market got a late boost from statements from Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer and Finance Minister Theo Waigel after a meeting in Bonn that they were on the way to finding an end to their dispute over Bonn's plans to revalue the reserves.

Asked if the compromise represents a defeat for the Finance Ministry, Waigel answered, 'No, I think it's a good compromise.' He made the comment when he briefly emerged from a party meeting of the Christian Democratic Union and sister party, the Christian Social Union.

Waigel added, however, that the Bundesbank's policy-making Central Bank Council must still make a statement. The Bundesbank hasn't yet officially commented on the developments in Bonn or given an indication of when it would make an announcement.

Meanwhile in a separate report, Finance Minister Theo Waigel has been criticised by members of his own party, the Bavarian-based CSU, over his controversial plans to revalue central bank assets.

CSU party sources confirmed press reports that CSU state premier of Bavaria Edmund Stoiber had called on Waigel, who is CSU party leader, to find a consensus with the Bundesbank which opposes the plan to help stop budget gaps.

CSU leader in the Bavarian regional assembly, Alois Glueck, warned Waigel his plan to revalue gold and currency reserves to help Germany qualify for EMU could not be done without the consent of the Bundesbank, they said.

[02] Van Miert says he will approve merger of Cie. de Suez and Lyonnaise des Eaux

Speaking on the sidelines of a business conference organized by the Wall Street Journal Europe, Van Miert told journalists that Suez-Lyonnaise had presented an acceptable solution to the only potential competition problem in the merger, involving waste management services in Belgium.

Lyonnaise unit Sita said it will sell its 49% stake in Belgian waste management company P.A.G.E., acting in response to E.U. Commission concerns.

'Both companies are active in this market. Once the problem was indentified they had a choice between offering fully fledged remedies or we would have gone into a second phase (detailed probe),' Van Miert said as he arrived for a conference.

He added that the two partners had agreed at the end of last week to address the Commission's concerns.

[03] Yeltsin seeks quick action on tax reform

President Boris Yeltsin threw his weight behind the government's efforts to push tax reform through the communist-dominated parliament quickly, a news agency reported.

ITAR-Tass quoted presidential spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky as saying winning passage of the tax code before the State Duma's summer break begins later this month is 'a vital necessity.'

The comments came after Yeltsin met in the Kremlin with First Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais, who is filling in for vacationing Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.

Yastrzhembsky noted that Yeltsin praised the work of the economic-reform team Chubais brought with him into the government in March, the first words of presidential praise for the Cabinet in months.

Chubais has warned, however, that the success of efforts to stabilize precarious government finances and return the economy to growth depend on urgent action by the Duma, parliament's lower house.

In recent days, Chubais has blasted the Duma for delaying action on the tax code, calling attempts to put off consideration of the plan until the fall 'unacceptable.'

Duma leaders, on the other hand, contend that they need more time to consider the massive tax-reform programme, the first overhaul of the system since market reforms began in 1992.

[04] Deutsche Telekom faces anti-competitiveness investigation

Deutsche Telekom responded to the news by denying allegations it engaged in anti-competitive practices.

Television companies had complained against Telekom's plans to limit acceptance of new channels in its cable system with the purpose of selling subscription channels itself.

A spokesman said Telekom does not require any private broadcaster to buy additional services as a condition for access to Telekom's cable network, as alleged in a complaint filed by the VPRT group of private television broadcasters.

'We believe the complaint by the private broadcasters is unfounded,' the spokesman said.

Television companies want unrestricted access to Telekom's cable system for their regular products.

Cartel office official Harald Luebbert said Telekom could not force broadcasters to buy other services as a condition for being included in its cable network.

Deutsche Telekom operates Germany's only nationwide cable television network, serving 17 million households. Telekom only recently agreed to expand to 33 channels from 31 in response to complaints by broadcasters.

The cartel office said it is now for Telekom to respond.

[05] Racal full year pretax profit falls 28%

The company's final results, showing pretax profit fell 28% to £40.4 million for the year ended March 31 from £70.4 million a year earlier, were 'bang in line' with expectations, despite including a run of exceptional costs, dealers said.

Shares in Racal staged a brief rally despite the company issuing a profit warning, as market makers pinned their hopes on a company break up.

Although the group said nothing to directly encourage these expectations when it released full-year results earlier this session, analysts said they were impressed by Racal's intention to tackle the undervalued position of the shares.

Racal said a 'strategic partner' could help, and that mergers and acquisitions advisers were reviewing the options.

'The price was driven by news of the M&A team' at the data products division, which led to the break-up hopes, said a dealer.

Dealers noted that there was some disappointment that Racal did not deliver more news on strategy at the meeting.

Racal also said a tax dispute with the U.K. Inland Revenue dating from 1986 has gone in favour of the company on appeal. The company was in dispute over the deductibility of certain payments in connection with the buy-out of minority interests in Racal Cellular. The potential liability for the company was around £12 million, but the Appeal Court has closed the case without liability to Racal.

[06] U.S. April leading indicators index decreases 0.1%

The composite index of leading indicators, which is supposed to forecast economic trends six to nine months ahead, decreased 0.1% in April to 103.5, according to preliminary estimates by the Conference Board.

The leading index was revised to a 0.2% increase in March. The Conference Board had previously announced a 0.1% increase in the month. February was unrevised at up 0.5%. Over the six months from October to April, the index increased 1.0% and eight of the 10 leading indicators advanced.

Six of the 10 leading indicators fell in April. The most significant negative contributors were average weekly initial claims for state unemployment insurance and stock prices. The biggest positive contributor was the money supply indicator.

The index was equal to 100 in 1992.

The Conference Board said the composite index of lagging indicators increased 0.2% in April to 105. Revised data show that the lagging index increased 0.2% in March and decreased 0.2% in February.

The Conference Board is a non-profit research and business membership group responsible for computing the composite indexes from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

[07] Carlsberg posts 17% rise in first half pretax profit

Carlsberg's report went on to say that the gain in profit had come despite a shrinking domestic beer market and uncertainty about the sale of its Carlsberg-Tetley operation to Britain's Bass.

The report, for the six months to March 31, 1997, logged pre-tax profit up to 870 million kroner from 741 million the year before and turnover up to 9.21 billion kroner from 8.54 billion.

Analysts had on average forecast pre-tax profit of 812 million crowns and turnover of 8.99 billion.

Carlsberg said that much of the rise in turnover came from the stronger British pound and an increased stake in Norwegian brewer Falcon, to 50% from 30%.

Net income from stocks and bonds transactions and other financial items was 338 million kroner ($177.3 million), up from 211 million kroner in the year- earlier period.

It said that Carslberg-Tetley, which it jointly owns with Bass, had a first- half result similar to that of the year before but it gave no figure.

[08] Vodafone posts record pretax profit for full year up 13%

Vodafone also said it ended the year with a U.K. market share of more than 40% and ''a significant lead in the digital market.''

Vodafone said its pretax profit rose to a record £539 million ($880.8 million) for the year ended on March 31 from £475 million in the previous year.

The company said it made a full-year pretax profit before interest payments of £26.2 million outside its U.K. base, compared with a loss of £37.1 million the year before.

Although Vodafone's operations in the Pacific Rim continued to make a loss, its pretax profit of £36.1 million in continental Europe, compared with last year's loss of £1.4 million, was the decisive factor behind the swing.

In the year to March 31, the company connected 415,000 U.K.-based customers, ending the year with 2.87 million subscribers, a rise of 17%. ''During the year, we achieved good subscriber growth in the U.K. increasing our overall market leadership,'' said Gent.

Vodafone said this strong growth is due in part to a transition from the old analog network to the digital network. It said 52% of its British subscribers are now hooked up to the higher-quality service.

[09] More voices raised on both sides of EMU discussion

France's new Socialist-led government plans to stick to the timetable for launching a single European currency in 1999, a senior Socialist said. 'Of course we must respect this deadline,' Elisabeth Guigou, tipped to serve as European Affairs Minister in the new government, told RTL radio.

Meanwhile, Jacques Santer, President of the European Union Commission, said '(European) governments will surely overcome their passing difficulties because everyone wants to see the European economic and monetary union succeed.' In an interview on the sidelines of a E.U. foreign ministers meeting, published in an Italian daily, Santer said that 'EMU isn't only a monetary project but a determining factor for the future integration of Europe. A failure of the Euro would mean a failure of the entire EMU project.'

This follows the remarks ofItalian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, who said that there could be no delay to Europe's planned economic and monetary union because postponement would mean the project would never get off the ground. 'If we postpone it, it will not go ahead,' Prodi told a talk show on state television RAI. 'Delay means losing faith.'

'I think that a delay of the euro would be the most reasonable solution,' said Hax. 'The problems stem from the choice between interpreting the criteria rigidly and still sticking to the established timetable. These two things can no longer be reconciled under the current conditions.'

Hax acknowledged that the victory by the socialists in Sunday's French elections and the rift between the German government and the Deutsche Bundesbank over the revaluation of gold and foreign exchange reserves are raising questions as to the fate of the single currency.

Former U.K. Prime Minister, John Major, is also quoted in the London Telegraph calling for a delay. He also said that the U.K. government should seek to prevent other European countries proceeding with a 'fudged' version of European economic and monetary union in 18 months.

Responding to questions about the French election results which have brought a left-wing government to power, Santer said, 'Let's wait to see the programme of the new French government. But regarding their attitude towards Europe, I must underline that the majority of the new government is surely pro-Europe.'

Santer noted that the 1992 Maastricht Treaty 'was ratified under a (French) socialist government with a socialist President.'

Prodi, who has said he will resign if his efforts to take Italy into monetary union at its planned 1999 start fail, said plans remained on track. 'Europe is not getting further away,' he said.

Major said he has shifted his stance since his party lost the general election on May 1 because of Germany's decision to revalue its gold reserves and because of the Socialist victory in the French elections Sunday.

[10] National Grid full year pretax profit down 4%

National Grid said that new price controls imposed by the industry regulator, the Office of Electricity Regulation, 'will significantly reduce turnover from transmission over the next four years.'

However, the company said the effects will be partially offset at operating profit level by a reduction in controllable costs.

'The streamlining of the transmission organization will enable National Grid to achieve an average reduction of at least 6.0% per year in controllable costs in real terms,' said National Grid.

The company said although profits were under pressure in the last year, it was able to increase the total dividend to 11.13 pence per share from 10.27 pence a year ago, and with better clarity after the introduction of Offer's pricing regime forecast that dividends should grow by between 4% and 5% in the next four years.

[11] Israel exspected to sell El Al

Netanyahu received the panel's report yesterday and said he would study the recommendations. ''Many countries have privatized their airlines successfully and other countries who have not gone the way of privatization have suffered,'' he said.

In 1996, El Al lost an estimated $80 million, a company spokeswoman said.

One key issue addressed by the panel, consisting of Transport Ministry officials and El Al employees, was whether El Al planes should fly on the Jewish Sabbath under new ownership.

The Jerusalem Post daily said that it would be up to future shareholders to decide whether El Al planes would fly on the Sabbath, which runs from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Under government ownership, El Al planes stayed on the ground during the Sabbath.

[12] De La Rue full year pretax profit drops 28%

'When we announced our half-year results in November, we said that trading conditions had been extremely tough,' said Chairman Lord Limerick. 'Despite some encouraging signs at that stage, in the event these conditions continued into the second half, with the result that the full year's profits are lower than last year's.' For 1998, the company said the market now shows signs of sustained improvement, and that its cash systems division is set to increase profits.

However, De La Rue added that its banknote market continues to suffer from excess capacity, and trading performance at its associated companies, Giori and Camelot, is expected to be at the same levels seen in 1997.

Shares in De La Rue were down on the news of lower-than-expected full year results and a less-than-rosy outlook for the short-term future.

However, De La Rue Chief Executive John Marshall told Dow Jones that the company wouldn't be investing so heavily into new products if it didn't think shareholders would see a return 'fairly soon.'

'We certainly expect an improvement in earnings in the current year,' he said, 'and for earnings to continue to improve once products start rolling out quickly.'

[13] Corporate and Economic Briefs

France's April producer prices rose 0.3% from March, but were 1.4% lower for the trailing 12 months, according to the national statistics institute. The April increase follows a 0.1% decline in March. INSEE said mineral prices were mostly stable during the latest month, though glass product prices slipped another 0.7% on the month and plate glass fell 0.3%. The agency said wood and paper product prices rose 0.2% from March while fiber prices rose 0.5% on the month.

Norwegian power companies generated a total profit of about 4 billion kroner ($566 million) in 1996 and paid dividends of about 1.5 billion kroner, Vidar Kildahl, information director of the Norwegian Electricity Federation, told Dow Jones. The profit total drew swift criticism from a parliamentarian, who told an Oslo daily newspaper that the figures show that local municipalities and counties are exploiting power concerns. 'Municipalities are displaying a behaviour which we condemn in the private sector,' parliamentarian Erik Dahlheim told the newspaper Aftenposten. Kildahl responded by conceding that there may have been some instances of excessive dividends among local councils and counties that own the power companies and decide the level of dividends.

Swedish chemicals and plastics company Perstorp said eight-month pretax profit fell 21% to 362 million kronor ($47.1 million) and revenues dropped 9.0% to 7.78 billion kronor. Revenues fell due to the sales of business areas Perstorp Components and Perstorp Analytical, the company said. The sale of the two units generated capital gains of 178 million kronor and 152 million kronor, respectively. However, the gains were almost neutralized by funds of 252 million kronor set aside for the restructuring of parts of the units which were not sold. For the full fiscal year ending August 31, 1997, Perstorp sees pretax profit at 500 million to 550 million kronor, compared with 716 million kronor a year earlier.

Italy's public sector deficit narrowed to around 54.950 trillion lire ($32.7 billion) in the first five months of 1997 from 78.708 trillion lire in the comparable 1996 period, according to figures released by the Treasury Ministry. In the month of May alone, the Treasury said that the deficit of the public sector was about 13 trillion lire, up more than 6 trillion from the deficit figure registered in May 1996.

Nominal Swiss retail sales reversed their declines in prior months by rising 2.0% year to year in April, the government's statistics office reported. As reported previously, nominal retail sales declined 0.8% in March and fell 1.1% in April 1996. In order to take into account the Easter shopping period, the bureau reported that combined retail sales for March and April rose 0.6% compared to the same period a year earlier. On a real basis, April retail sales rose 1.8% from a year earlier. In the first four months, retail sales fell 0.7% from the same period in 1996, the agency said.

British property group MEPC said it expected its dividend cover to improve in 1998 and beyond. MEPC also said it would maintain its dividend at 20 pence per share for 1997. In its interim results statement, MEPC said it had made pre-tax profits of 75.7 million pounds ($123.7 million) for the six months to March 31 before a 73.2 million pound provision for swap terminations announced in April. MEPC will pay a maintained interim dividend of 5.25p per share.

The European Union Commission isn't likely to make a decision on the alliance between American Airlines and British Airways until sometime after the summer, E.U. competition chief Karel Van Miert said. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a business conference organized by the Wall Street Journal Europe, Van Miert said he has had 'constructive' talks with Robert Ayling, chief executive of British Airways, but he wouldn't provide any more details. Van Miert said the investigation is 'going to take a long time. There won't be a conclusion until after the summer break.'

The head of Germany's Bayerische Vereinsbank, a bank often cited as a takoever target, downplayed the likelihood it might be the object of a hostile bid. Albrecht Schmidt, chief executive of Germany's fifth largest bank, said there was a need for change in the overcrowded German banking landscape, but said hostile takeovers would not work. Nor was Vereinsbank itself actively on the lookout for a major takeover, Schmidt said, in an interview on the fringes of the International Monetary Conference in Switzerland. 'The profile of the bank is far more important than its size,' he said.

Rhone-Poulenc said it will sell half of its French chlorine, soda and bleach operations to LaRoche Industries to create a joint marketing and production venture. No financial details were provided, and company officials were not immediately available for comment. The company said Rhone-Poulenc Chimie, its chemical production unit, is seeking partnerships or the sale of other activities that do not fit in its strategy of focusing on specialty and service-based chemical activities.

Italian electric utility Ente Nazionale per l'Energia Electrica is in talks with two Italian banks on possible investments in its new joint venture that will compete for Italy's third cellular phone license, said ENEL's head of telecommunications, Tommaso Pompei. He made the comments in an interview published in financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore. ENEL is forming a joint venture with German telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom to bid for the third cellular phone license in Italy, which should be opened up within several weeks. The two have said they will open the joint venture to new financial and strategic partners. Pompei, who will be the managing director of the new company should it win the bid, said ENEL is in talks with savings bank Cariplo, Credito Italian, and Agnelli family holding company IFIL.

Dutch retail sales in April rose 2.7% from a year earlier, the Central Bureau for Statistics said. This figure is not adjusted to reflect price changes, but the CBS said overall price levels in April remained flat from a year earlier, so that after adjustment for prices, the volume of retail sales in April also showed a 2.7% increase from a year earlier. The CBS noted that supermarket sales in April were strong, while sales in clothing stores were lower than a year earlier.

Assurances Generales de France said that it sold its 40% stake in Compagnie Africaine d'Assurances to Morocco's ONA Group, which already owns the other 60%. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, an AGF spokesman said. Cie Africaine d'Assurances will continue to represent AGF in Morocco as a co-insurer, AGF said. ONA is a state-controlled Moroccan conglomerate.

Austrian financial giants Bank Austria and EA Generali agreed to a step-by- step 'disentanglement' of their mutual interests, EA Generali said. The move was triggered by the takeover earlier this year by Bank Austria of Creditanstalt Bankverein, which has close ties with EA Generali, Austria's leading insurer. Bank Austria is linked with insurance rival Wiener Staedtische Allgemeine Versicherung. In the first step of the programme, Bank Austria will take over a 4.8% stake in Creditanstalt owned by EA Generali, while EA Generali's parent, Italian insurer _Assicurazioni Generali_, will get a 2.4% stake in EA Generali held by Creditanstalt, EA Generali said.

The European Union Commission isn't likely to make a decision on the alliance between American Airlines and British Airways until sometime after the summer, E.U. competition chief Karel Van Miert said. American Airlines is part of AMR Corp. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a business conference organized by the Wall Street Journal Europe, Van Miert said he has had ''constructive'' talks with British Airways Chief Executive Robert Ayling, but he wouldn't provide any more details.

The unemployment rate in Belgium fell to 12.5% in May from 12.9% in April, the country's employment ministry said. The total number of jobless fell to 536,763, from 551,397 in April. The number of jobless fell from 13.0% in the year-ago period.

[14] World News Briefs

Saved by a near-sweep of Ontario, the ruling Liberal Party headed back to power in Canada, with a slim victory in an election that fractured sharply along regional lines. Prime Minister Jean Chretien, whose Liberals barely won the minimum to govern without a coalition, was nearly defeated in his own Quebec district after calling the election 18 months early on the assumption his party would win handily.

Members of Israel's opposition Labour Party voted for a new leader, with former military chief Ehud Barak seen as the most likely to replace elder statesman Shimon Peres. Barak, a security-minded hawk, said he alone could unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud Party. Barak's main rival in Labour is Yossi Beilin, who in 1993 initiated secret contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization that led to the autonomy agreements with the Palestinians.

Timothy McVeigh has been convicted for the deadliest act of terror on U.S. soil, a verdict that brought jubilation and bitter tears to relatives of the 168 people killed in the Oklahoma City federal building bombing. The jury will now decide whether he should receive the death penalty.

Swiss banks have found 4.8 million Swiss francs ($3.4 million) in assets belonging to the deposed Zairian president, Mobutu Sese Seko, officials said. The amount is far less than the billions of dollars in assets Mobutu and hirdered a search of the 406 commercial banks in Switzerland last month after an initial survey of 12 large banks came back virtually empty handed. As the Mobutu regime toppled last month, the Swiss government announced a freeze on any Mobutu family assets in Switzerland.

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