McDonald's Latvia fast food chain last year generated 4.1 million lats (5.9 million euros) in net sales and 90,200 lats in earnings, according to the company's financial report. Net sales rose by 25.3 percent, and profit grew 68.3 percent year-on-year. McDonald's Latvia board member Irina Blagodacka said that sales increased thanks to the growing number of customers, also fostered by the growth of tourism. She said the company's sales might grow 20-25 percent this year as well, and that the firm plans to end the year with a profit. McDonald's presently runs six fast food restaurants in Riga.
The Estonian Genome Foundation intends to resume collecting gene samples in 2007. Preparatory work is in progress to transform the foundation into a Tartu University research institution, the chairman of the foundation's supervisory council and president of the Academy of Sciences Richard Villems said. "At the moment the work has a 'normative technological' character 's it is mostly being dealt with by lawyers of the university and the Social Affairs Ministry. The work has so far progressed in an atmosphere of mutual understanding," Villems said, adding that the genome foundation law needed to be changed. "Hopefully, the respective bill will be ready by the early fall," he added.
Rautaruukki, the Finnish producer of high value-added special metal products and innovative solutions, is fighting with its former employees over the use of Ruukki trademark in Lithuania and Estonia. The concern operates two subsidiaries in these countries 's Ruukki Lietuva and Ruukki Products 's while former employees of the concern have established a company Ruukki Statyba in Lithuania and Ruukki Eesti in Estonia. "The companies set up by former employees have nothing to do with the Finnish concern. They have just expropriated our name," said Dalia Sakalauskiene, trade manager at Ruukki Lietuva. Former employees rushed to register the companies in Lithuania and Estonia almost simultaneously with the Finnish concern, she noted. The dispute between Rautaruukki and Ruukki Statyba over the use of Ruukki trademark is being heard by Vilnius Regional Court, and analogous proceedings take place in Estonia.
