Thursday May 15, 01:48 PM
Central European shares dominated by earnings; OTP, Unipetrol, Agora hit; CEZ up
BUDAPEST (Thomson Financial) - Central European shares were mixed at midday as investors digested a series of earnings reports.
OTP Bank (Frankfurt: 896068 - news) was down in Budapest after concerns on performance in Russia, Agora fell in Warsaw as a poorly-received acquisition eclipsed results, while good results at Prague's CEZ countered a slide in Unipetrol.
At 2.18 pm Warsaw's WIG20 fell 0.85 percent, Budapest's BUX dipped 1.14 percent, while Prague's PX was flat.
The day's big story in Warsaw was a 7 percent slump for media group Agora as investors poured cold water over acquisition plans despite first-quarter results that were a touch better than forecast.
'Results came no way near calming the market after yesterday's takeover news (for Agora),' said Tomasz Dudz, trader at DI BRE in Warsaw. 'Investors find it hard to note larger benefits in this deal for Agora and the reaction was purely negative.'
State-controlled refiners PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos also fell, after results which showed operating margins were poor despite better-than-forecast bottom lines. PKN lost 0.7 percent while Lotos fell 1.9 percent.
OTP Bank led Budapest lower as in-line results were overshadowed by concerns over the bank's performance in its key Russian market. The stock was 3.2 percent lower midday.
MOL edged 0.3 percent lower. Analysts said investors were more concerned about news of a break through in OMV (Vienna: 430021.VI - news) 's takeover attempt and acquisition news than in-line results this morning.
In Prague, CEZ kept the index on positive ground with a 2.5 percent rise after releasing results mostly better than expected, with dealers saying foreign demand was supporting the stock.
Unipetrol, however, dipped 2 percent, after dropping more than 5 percent at the open when it released first-quarter earnings below expectations on weak petrochemical margins.
'CEZ results were strong, and we can see some foreign demand because of it,' a Prague trader said. 'Unipetrol results, though, were very disappointing.'
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