Bulgaria's Railway Infrastructure Holding Company Plans Expansion Abroad in 2009-2010

The company, part of infrastructure group Holding Roads, also expects to continue growing domestically, aiming to benefit from the billions of Bulgarian levs planned for investment in railway infrastructure through 2014, the company's deputy chairman Krasimir Slanchev told reporters.

The Railway Infrastructure company plans to expand to Ukraine, Poland, Albania and Macedonia, starting from the second half of next year and focusing on its expansion plans in 2010, Slanchev said. The first expansion target will be Ukraine.

The company's parent group already has sales offices in Ukraine, Albania, Poland and Macedonia.

Railway Infrastructure Holding Company sees its turnover rising to 60 million levs ($38.6 million/30.7 million euro) next year from 40 million levs planned for this year. A further rise to 170 million levs a year by 2014 is projected, said Slanchev.

Railway Infrastructure was set up last year as a holding company comprising four units that are dealing in railroad construction and maintenance, locomotive and railcar repair and manufacturing of cross beams.

The company, which held an initial public offering (IPO) this summer, will start trading on the bourse in Sofia on Friday. The company sought 27.9 million levs in the IPO to finance its 65 million lev investment plan for an upgrade of its facilities until 2014 but raised just 12.6 million levs.

Holding Roads (www.holding-roads.com), incorporating road, bridge and railroad builders among others, sees group revenue rising 31% to 278.5 million levs this year and consolidated net profit reaching 58.8 million levs, up by some 150%, group data showed. The group's investment programme for 2008 is worth 42.8 million levs.

Group board chairman Orlin Hadjiyankov said earlier this month that its annual consolidated gross profit is expected to exceed 200 million levs on revenue of over one billion levs after 2010, thanks to EU allocations.

Bulgaria, a European Union member since 2007, plans to pour billions of euro into upgrading its worn-out infrastructure until 2015 to sustain economic growth. The country stands to receive almost seven billion euro from the EU's cohesion and structural funds until 2013.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)