— 96 out of 142 are profitable
CSE listed companies more than quadrupled their combined first half profits in 2006 to CYP 200.4 mln from CYP 48.3 mln in the same period a year ago, which also surpassed the total 2005 gains of CYP 164.3 mln.
According to data compiled by the Financial Mirror, of the 142 CSE listed companies, 96 of them or 68% were profitable in the first half, in stark contrast to other years when profitability growth was only managed by a few.
The news will be music to the ears of CSE officials eager to launch the common trading platform with the Athens Stock Exchange in early October 2006, knowing well that one of the key criteria of attracting foreign institutional interest is the issue of profitability.
— Most profitable
Bank of Cyprus Pcl (BOC) was the most profitable company listed on the CSE, boosting first half profit by 172% YoY to CYP 85 mln. The second most profitable company was Laiki Bank Pcl (CPB), which lifted 1H’06 profit by 111% YoY to CYP 38.2 mln.
Demetra Investments (DEM) was the third most profitable, lifting profit to CYP 17.5 mln, followed by Hellenic Bank Pcl (HB) with CYP 15.2 mln and Interfund (INF) with CYP 12.3 mln in profit.
— Best performer
Hellenic Bank was, however, the company with the most spectacular turnaround among the Main Market stocks, as new management boosted first half profit by a staggering 1686%.
Among the low market-cap stocks, Lordos United Plastic, listed in the Parallel Market achieved a 5320% profit increase, while in the Alternative Market, CCC Holdings & Investments (CCCH) lifted 1H06 profit by 1296% and in the Approved Investments Market, Interfund Investments (INF) lifted 1H06 profit by 352%.
— Main Market dominates
As was expected, the Main Market of 16 companies continued to dominate the market with total 1H06 profit rising by 194% YoY to CYP 148.62 mln from CYP 50.4 mln a year ago in the same period and total profit of CYP 134.3 mln for the whole of 2005. In the Main Market, 14 out of 16 were profitable.
The Approved Investments Market with 19 companies was the second most profitable sector, benefiting from the strong performance of the banking sector. Their total profit surged 176% YoY to CYP 59.9 mln.
In the Alternative Market, 42 out of 74 were profitable, with total 1H06 profit up at CYP 14.6 mln compared to 1H05 loss of CYP 382.000.
In the Parallel Market, 10 out of 15 companies in the sector were profitable, but the sector figures were distorted by the performance of Cyprus Airways. Including CAIR, the sector lost a combined CYP 22.3 mln in 1H06 compared to CYP 21.6 mln losses in 1H05. Excluding CAIR, the sector moved into the black with total profit of CYP 947.000 compared to CYP 1.2 mln losses in 1H05.
— Most loss making
Cyprus Airways, the troubled national airline, was the worst performer, racking up total losses of CYP 23.3 mln in 1H06, up 14% from CYP 20.4 mln losses reported in 1H05 and CYP 22.6 mln losses for the whole of 2005.
Libra Holidays Group (LHG) and Louis Pcl (LUI) were the second and third most loss making titles with losses of CYP 5.7 mln and CYP 4.4 mln respectively, but this was mostly due to seasonality factors, since tourism companies usually report a better performance in the second half. LUI has forecast that it will report about CYP 8 mln in profit for the whole of 2006.
Costs related to heavy redundancies forced KEO to be the fourth largest loss maker with total 1H06 loss of CYP 3.2 mln, followed by D.H. Cyprotels (DHH) with CYP 2.8 mln in 1H06 losses.
