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October 11th, 2008
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Business Headlines

March 5th, 2008 | Current Issue

Gearing up
Spurred by sales, Lego does an about-face on Kladno outsourcing

Banks rake in large profits
Domestic finance booms in face of global turbulence

Income tax deadline looming
Find out if you need to file by March 31

Biz Events
Dates of Note

Dairies cry over lost milk
Ministry investigating anomalies in production numbers

10 Questions
with Steven Buckley
10 Questions

U:fon appoints tech chief
Movers & Shakers

BRIEFS


REWE The German retail group Rewe has purchased the 146 stores of the Plus discount chain for an undisclosed amount, making Rewe the second-largest retailer in the country, the company announced March 3. Rewe, which already operates Billa, Delvita and Penny Market, will have total annual sales of 43 billion Kč ($2.6 billion). All of the Plus stores will be rebranded as Penny Markets, the firm said.

SUPERB Škoda Auto, part of the Volkswagen Group, debuted a redesign of its flagship car model, the Superb, at the Geneva Motor Show March 4. The sedan features a transverse originated by the Volkswagen Passat, as well as increased legroom and a touch-screen navigation system. The car will retail for a base price of 619,900 Kč.
GAS RWE Transgas, the country’s largest distributor of natural gas, will increase prices 3.1 percent this April, the company announced Feb. 29. Competitor Pražská plynárenská will raise its prices by a similar amount, while E.ON does not plan an increase. RWE, which had already boosted prices 7.4 percent in January, attributed the hike to a worldwide increase in gas and oil prices.
NUKES ČEZ has plans prepared to expand its nuclear power plant in Dukovany, south Moravia, in addition to its Temelín nuclear plant, Hospodářské noviny reported Feb. 28. The dominant energy utility would like to add two reactors to each facility. Any move to construct these reactors will require governmental approval; the Green Party, a member of the governing coalition, opposes further development of nuclear power.
MERGER Two of the country’s largest Internet portals, Atlas.cz and Centrum.cz, will merge under the joint ownership of the U.S. investment fund Warburg Pincus, the companies announced Feb. 26. The combined operations, which will maintain separate brands for now, will have a total of 3.5 million users, nearing the 4.5 million users of the largest Czech search portal, Seznam.cz.
CARBON Industry and Trade Minister Martin Říman slammed the European Commission’s proposed changes to carbon emissions trading during a visit to Brussels Feb. 28. The system, which would come into effect in 2013 if approved, would see emissions credits mostly auctioned rather than distributed freely. Říman said auctions could cause electricity prices to increase dozens of percent.
TAKEOFF Czech Airlines recorded a profit last year for the first time since 2004, the state-owned company announced Feb. 27. The company’s net profit for 2007 was 111 million Kč, almost half of which came from the sale of its cargo terminal. The airline, which is slated for eventual privatization, expects its profits to reach 391 million Kč this year.
BOOSTED The state-owned brewery Budějovický Budvar increased its exports to the U.S. 37 percent last year, thanks to a distribution deal it signed with Anheuser-Busch in January 2007, the brewer announced Feb. 26. The two companies have long been mired in legal disputes over the Budweiser brand name, which continue despite the deal.

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