Serbian Household Appliance Maker Alfa Plam Moves to B Segment of Belgrade Bourse

Alfa Plam previously traded on the unregulated market of the Belgrade bourse.

To list on the B segment, or Standard Market, a company must have a capital of at least 4.0 million euro ($5.16 million) and at least 25% of its equity capital should be owned by minority shareholders.

Alfa Plam’s investment spending since 2000 has totalled 13.5 million euro, Ilic told a BELEX news conference, adding that the company’s gross profit totalled 1.8 million euro in the first half of 2008.

The company’s production grew by 11.7% in the first half of 2008 with its share on Serbia's household appliances market topping 40%, Ilic said.

He added that Alfa Plam’s main local competitor is the Milan Blagojevic household appliance producer based in the town of Smederevo, central Serbia, which also holds about 40% of the market share.

Alfa Plam exports about 65% of its production, Ilic also said. 

BELEX operates a regulated official market with A and B segments and an unregulated market. Rubber and chemicals group Tigar and construction company Energoprojekt are the only companies listed on the most transparent A segment, or Prime Market, while all other stocks are traded on the unregulated market. Before Alfa Plam there have been no listings on the B segment.

To be on the official A segment, a company needs to publish regular quarterly financial reports, to have a capital of at least 10 million euro and at least 25% of its equity capital should be owned by minority shareholders.

Alfa Plam was founded in 1948 as a public company. Its privatisation began in 1998 and was first traded on the BELEX in September, 2002.

($ = 0.775 euro)