Company briefs - 2008-06-11

  • 2008-06-11
The Butinge oil terminal handled 3.4 million tons of crude oil in the first five months of this year, almost two times more than in the same period last year. Management of the terminal, which is owned by Mazeikiu Nafta, attributed the growth to rising demand for oil products and increased output at the Mazeikiai refinery. In 2007 the terminal saw crude oil handling decline 22.3 percent to 4.5 million tons.

Eesti Raudtee (Estonian Railway) said it was planning a new series of layoffs that could involve several hundred people. Urmas Glase, spokesman, said that the layoff plan was being drafted and no figures have been set. He said an estimated "few hundred" people could lose their jobs. He said the company is using more automation and that freight volumes will remain low and may even fall further. The railway workers union announced on June 4 that more than 500 people may lose their jobs, though Glase said this estimate was exaggerated.

Sanitas, a pharmaceutical operator with plants in Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia, may be the target of a takeover. According to reports, potential buyers include Italy's Recordati, which has recently announced plans to increase its presence in Eastern and Central Europe, the Lietuvos Rytas reported, citing Poland's Rzeczpospolita. The deal is rumored to be worth 500 million euros. Sanitas CEO Saulius Jurgelenas said that the reports were just "speculation." Rumors that Sanitas could be put up for sale began to circulate in April after the company's board decided to explore the company's strategic alternatives and possibilities of increasing its value.