Earnings of the listed and to-be-listed companies

ä The Tallinn-based confectionery maker AS Kalev suffered a loss of 3.1 million kroons ($233,785) on sales of 311.2 million kroons during the first nine months of 1998. The company's manager of finances, Andrus Koha, said the loss was mostly caused by big financial costs. Kalev's net sales during the first nine months of the year were up 40.1 million kroons or 14.8 percent compared with the same period a year ago.

ä The Reval Hotel Group announced last week that its nonaudited consolidated net profit for the first nine months of the year was 16.7 million kroons. Consolidated net sales during the same period totaled 153.9 million kroons, including 148.6 million kroons from hotel Olumpia, the company told the stock exchange. The nine-month profit was down by nearly 28 percent from the same period last year. Katrin Rasmann, chief finance manager of the hotel group, said the drop in profit was caused by a sudden increase in the parent company's marketing, management and development costs which were necessary to attain the goals set down in the group's development plan.

ä Tallinna Farmaatsiatehas (Tallinn Pharmaceutical Factory) posted a negative profit of 21.5 million kroons for the first three quarters of 1998. Nonaudited data shows the parent company's loss during January-September was 20.4 million kroons and the loss sustained by subsidiaries was 1.1 million kroons. The group's consolidated net sales during these nine months totaled 72 million kroons. Sales in September, at 2.6 million kroons, were the lowest for any separate month in recent years, Chairman of the Board Arno Kaseniit said. In the first nine months of 1997, Farmaatsiatehas posted a profit of 32.5 million kroons on sales of 120 million kroons.

Latvia

ä The Kvadraprint printing and paper production company will end this year with a loss of between 200,000 and 250,000 lats ($438,600), financial specialist Ingars Balcuns said. Yet the turnover is expected to nearly double this year, amounting to about 2.6 million lats, up from 1.4 million lats in 1997. In 1997 Kvadraprint incurred a loss of 241,000 lats. Balcuns attributed the loss to the poor financial situation of the company at the moment of its privatization and the necessity to invest in production-equipment modernization. Kvadraprint manufactures primarily cardboard, which accounts for two-thirds of its output. Ninety-five percent of the cardboard is sold to its key shareholder, the Kvadra Pak firm. The remaining one-third of its output is paper and printed advertising material. The company intends to start the production of laminated cardboard sheets for the advertising industry.

ä The Ogre textile company's gross profit was 1.3 million lats which was less than expected for the beginning nine months of this year, officials at the company told the BNS agency. In the first eight months, Ogre posted a gross profit of 1.5 million lats. However, spokesman Einars Vaivods said the Russian economic crisis had affected the company's nine-month turnover, which was 1.6 million lats. Although September's turnover was slightly larger than in the same month of last year, the company's management claims that Ogre will not be able to reach the planned increase in turnover by between 30 percent and 40 percent over 1997. The management, however, has not yet predicted exact indicators for this year.

ä Rigas Farmaceitiska Fabrika (Riga Pharmaceuticals Factory) reported a net profit of 102,484 lats in the first nine months of this year, the Riga Stock Exchange said. The company's net turnover for the period was 773,532 lats. RFF has assets worth 754,191 lats. It has a share capital of 510,000 lats and an equity capital of 612,484 lats. The company hopes to meet the 120,000 lats profit target for 1998 approved by its shareholders, Director Kaspars Balins said. The Latvian Central Depository has registered 507,000 shares in the company. Its key shareholder is the Aromabaltfarm firm, which holds 36 percent of RFF shares. RFF sells its output mainly in Latvia, Estonia and Georgia. Its shares appeared on the second list of the Riga Stock Exchange Nov. 9.

ä Latvijas Unibanka may once again review its profit target for this year, its Vice President Ivars Kirsons said. Unibanka lowered the profit target from 8.5 million lats to 4.7 million lats at the end of August. Kirsons said on November 3 that the current month was Ôquite decisive' in view of the expiration of the Russian government's 90-day moratorium on Nov. 17 and the formation of a new government in Latvia. "It is the date when Russia has to say something; either the moratorium has ended and now all those capable of paying have to meet their obligations or some program has to be created by this date," Kirsons said. Unibanka's vice president said decisions made in Russia could affect the bank's profit forecast both ways. If the decisions are unfavorable, the bank will create additional provisions and thus lower the profit target again. "If the situation is more favorable than we presently expect, the profit may be bigger," he noted. Kirsons noted that the bank could create some additional provisions at the end of this month as well because problems stemming from the Russian crisis will be most acutely felt in November's performance. Unibanka is one of the largest Latvian banks, its shares are quoted on the official list of the Riga Stock Exchange, and on the stock exchanges of London and Berlin.

ä Ventpils Nafta (Ventspils Oil) earned a net profit of 16,118,626 lats during the first nine months of 1998 on a net turnover of 38,726,177 lats, the Riga Stock Exchange reported on Nov. 6. The company's equity capital on Sept. 30 was 183,419,872 lats and its share capital was 104,479,519 lats. Ventspils Nafta had assets worth 197,511,837 lats as of that date. Late in October VN's president, Igors Skoks, predicted the company will not reach the profit target of 23 million lats planned for the entire year. In 1997 VN's profit was 23.61 million lats.

Lithuania

ä Dvarcioniu Keramika's, which manufactures ceramic trim tiles, had a turnof over 23.7 million litas ($5,925,000) over the beginning ten months of this year. Last year over the same period, the company sold output worth 23.9 million litas. The company's turnover in October, compared year-on-year, had increased by 18.6 percent and came to 2.31 million litas. Dvarcioniu Keramika is planning to receive 35 million litas in revenues this year, while last year's sales amounted to 30.2 million litas.

ä Over the first ten months of this year, turnover at the Panevezys-based brewery Kalnapilis increased 20.4 percent compared with the same period last year. Over the period of January-October of this year, Kalnapilis sold production worth 88.93 million litas, or 3.69 million decaliters, while last year sales amounted to 73.86 million litas, or 3.02 million dal. of beer. In October, turnover at the brewery was 9.49 million litas, or 22.6 percent higher than last October with 7.74 million litas. This October, the brewery sold 312,000 decaliters of beer, while in October 1997, the sales of beer amounted to 306,000 dal. Over the nine months, Kalnapilis earned 24.98 million litas in net profits.

ä One of the leaders of the Lithuanian beer market, the Klaipeda-based brewery Svyturys, showed a rise of 30.8 percent in its turnover this year. Over the first ten months of 1998, Svyturys sold production worth 73.1 million litas, but last year - 55.9 million litas. Over the first nine months, the company earned 16.6 million litas and is planning to earn about 18 million litas in net profits for the entire year. The Klaipeda-based brewery produced and sold over the first ten months 2.8 million decaliters of beer, or 20.1 percent more than over the same period last year.

ä Lithuania's Vilniaus Bankas earned 47.09 million litas in net audited profits over the first nine months Ñ 37.6 percent more than over the same period last year. Last year, the bank earned 34.23 million litas in profits over the same period. The audit reduced bank profits by 1.7 million litas. The main reason for the reduction was the allocation of 1.5 million litas to cover losses by subsidiaries in the third quarter.