Consolidated profit for the Linstow Center Mangement real estate management company last year was 69,074 lats (98,500 euros), reports news agency LETA. This was almost double the company's earnings in 2007. Revenue reached 1.62 million lats, about 5.7 percent more than in 2007. LCM is a real estate management and development company managing five Galactico shopping malls in Latvia - Galerija Centrs, Mols, Origo, Dole un Alfa, as well as the largest shopping mall in Estonia Ulemiste. Total floor space of shopping malls managed by LCM in Latvia is 230,000 square meters; the company has invested more than 200 million euros in opening shopping malls in the Baltics.
Sales at Rimi Baltic supermarkets dropped 8.8 percent (excluding VAT) in the first eight months of 2009 year-on-year, says public relations manager, Zane Enina, reports LETA. Sales from January to August this year reached 696.4 million euros: Rimi Eesti Food posted 214 million euros' sales; Rimi Latvia 339 million euros; Rimi Lietuva 143.5 million euros. For August 2009, compared with last August, sales at Rimi Latvia decreased 18.7 percent; Rimi Eesti Food down by 15.6 percent; Rimi Lietuva off by 22.4 percent. Rimi Baltic has 243 stores, with 77 in Estonia, 101 in Latvia and 65 in Lithuania. Rimi Baltic annual sales reached 464.9 million lats in 2008, with earnings after tax of 13.1 million lats.
Airport taxes in Riga are much smaller than those charged by the Tallinn and Vilnius airports, reports news agency LETA. Estonian Air President Andrus Aljas said that though all airlines operating flights to/from Riga would pay equal landing fees, fees charged by Riga and Tallinn airports still greatly differ. Estonian Minister of Transport and Telecommunications Juhan Parts suspects that Latvia's policy on the Riga Airport and the national airline airBaltic goes against fair competition principles. AirBaltic was entitled to significant tax breaks at the airport for many years, and the airport's operations are non-transparent. Parts suspects that the support for the airport from the state does not meet the regulations on airports in Europe.
