Snaige's revenues, profit soar

Snaige, the largest refrigerator producer in the Baltic states, saw its profits soar last year to 22.9 million litas (6.6 million euros) for 2002, a 140 percent increase year-on-year, allowing the company to pay a hefty dividend of 12 litas per share.

Listed on the Official List of blue chip stocks, Snaige's stock price has already jumped 17 percent so far this year and some 50 percent over the past months.

Brokers, however, said that the low supply of shares available for purchase was heating up the market price.

Still, the company's strategy of boosting the top line, foreign market share and new products line is winning over investors' hearts and minds.

Last year Snaige announced plans to open a plant in Russia and to launch a plastic components assembly line.

What's more, the company's decision to buy back part of its stock has also stirred up markets. Granted, Snaige executives have not announced how many or at what price they are prepared to buy back own equity.

Snaige's shareholders earlier approved a 10 percent share buyback program, which expires on March 31, 2003. Under the program, the price range was 25 litas to 50 litas a share. The company set up a reserve of 6.2 million litas for the buyback.

Currently, Snaige does not own any of its own shares.

Based in Alytus, in southern Lithuania, Snaige has announced a turnover of 250.6 million litas for 2002, a 26.5 percent increase over 2001.

The company exports over 92 percent of its output to foreign markets.

As of Sept. 30, 2002, Snavesta, a local company owned by the fund management firm Hermis Fondu Valdymas, held 34.07 percent of shares in Snaige. Including repo transactions, it controlled around 40 percent of Snaige.

Although the recent financials are preliminary, Snaige will release its 2002 results - based on the International Accounting Standards - after the general shareholders meeting scheduled for March 14.

Last year the company paid a dividend of 1.74 litas per share, with total dividend payments amounting to 2.6 million litas.

Snaige's shareholders will be asked to vote on a 2002 profit distribution plan, under which over 7.1 million litas should be channeled into distributable reserves and the remaining amount should be used for charity, social programs and other purposes.