Earnings of the Baltic List companies

Hansa Capital is forecasting a more than doubling of their growth in the number of leased cars in the first quarter, and an overall growth rate of from 15-20 percent for all of 2000. Hansa Liising Eesti (Hansa Leasing Estonia) car leasing project leader Ando Uus told a press conference that growth in the market should be considerable, particularly in the spring, as this is spurred on by the Motorex car fair, new models and clients' readiness. "Already at the beginning of the year, we have leased many more cars than last year, which indicates a rising trend," Uus said. "Car dealers shouldn't worry very much this year."

Hansa Liising Eesti forecasts the number of leased cars in the first quarter at 1,400, compared with 643 in the first quarter of 1999. In the fourth quarter 1999, Hansa Liising leased 1,384 cars. Uus said the number of car leasing contracts was 410 in January and 400 cars have already been leased in February. He said also that more favorable terms contribute to growth in the market.

Car leasing currently requires a 10 percent down payment to initiate the lease, though there is a trend towards lowering this amount, Uusi said. The interest levels will not significantly fall any more, but the policy is towards greater differentiation, depending on the client's risk class. "Also very important for us is to increase the speed of making out the contracts," he added.

Hansa Liising Eesti's market share in the car leasing portfolio is currently estimated at 62 percent, with Uhisliising in second place with 25 percent market share.

The board of Estonia's Hansapank decided on Wednesday to tentatively suggest payment of 5 kroons of dividends per share for 1999, on the basis of preliminary financial results. The bank's board will announce its final decision concerning distribution of profits after audited financial results become available. According to preliminary calculations, Hansapank Group earned 818 million kroons (USD 52.3 mln) of profit last year. The biggest sources of profit were banking operations in Estonia, 552 million kroons, and factoring and leasing, 217.6 million kroons.

Hansapank shareholders will have a regular general meeting on April 14. The issues on the agenda include endorsement of the annual report for the financial year 1999, recall of council members and election of new members and an auditor. The Hansapank council has proposed that Deloitte & Touche be elected auditors of Hansapank.

Shareholders will also discuss acquisition of treasury shares, the option program and statutory amendments. The level of dividends being planned by Hansapank is in agreement with expectations, but does not significantly reduce capital adequacy and leaves open the opportunity for new investments, analysts say. Uhispank analyst Sander Danil said that payment of five kroons dividends per share by Hansapank is in accordance with expectations.

Danil said that Hansapank wants to keep a relatively high capital adequacy and liquidity, because it may have plans to take part in the privatization of some Lithuanian bank or to repay some of its more expensive loans. Danil said that Hansapank's capital adequacy is 20 percent at present. He said the payment of dividends together with income tax would reduce the bank's capital adequacy by about 2.5 percent. "Considering their strategic aim of maintaining at least 15 percent capital adequacy, 500 million (USD 32.1 mln) to 800 million kroons will still remain in the liqudity buffer," Danil said.

Also Suprema analyst Paavo Pold said the payment of dividends by Hansapank is at the expected level. "The payment of dividends is based on the earnings of Hansapank Estonia, not the whole group," Pold said. "From the investors' point of view it means that relatively high dividends can be expected also next year, unless there are significant changes in the capital structure.

Introduction of service charges to Hanspank's internet payments and a rise in its debit cards monthly service fee may raise the bank's income for services by nearly 10 percent. Trigon Capital analyst Toomas Reisenbuk said that Hansapank's income from services will increase in the range from 50 to 70 million kroons (USD 3.15 to 4.41 mln) or by about one tenth as a result of the measures announced on Monday. Reisenbuk said that most of the increase will be from the rise in debit cards monthly service fee. "The effect of the internet bank service charges is not large at the time being, but its share is going to increase," he said.

Suprema analyst Paavo Paavo Pold said that each individual internet client makes from two to three payments a month as a minimum. According to the price list effective as of April 1, this would bring the bank an additional 700,000 kroons in service charges per month. The increase in the debit cards' service fee, from 10 to 15 kroons, will have a much more noticeable effect, Pold said. In Pold's opinion, the bank could earn about 26 million kroons additional income in nine months this year.

Hansapank's internet bank has currently 109,500 clients, of these 78,000 are individuals. Nearly 585,000 Hansapank clients have debit cards.

Lithuania

Rokiskio Suris, a leading Lithuanian dairy producer, posted sales of 15.6 million litas (USD 3.9 mln) in January, a fourfold increase from the figure in January 1999. "Our turnover was 4.1 million litas in January last year, but it does not reflect the real situation because then we were forced to curtail production due to uncertainties over export subsidies," the company's economist, Valerija Simeniene, told BNS.

Rokiskio Suris produced 1,152 tons of cheese during the first month of 2000, some 306 tons more than in January 1999. The dairy purchased 18,600 tons of milk in January, 6,300 tons more than a year ago. Rokiskio Suris exported 1,124 tons of cheese worth 11.8 million litas in January, which accounted for 75 percent of cheese produced by the company last month.