Slovenia’s Aerodrom Ljubljana Declines Offer To Buy Back Own Shares, Plans To Invest 48 Mln Euro in 2009

The company plans to invest 48 million euro ($61 million) in the airport’s infrastructure next year, Aerodrom Ljubljana said in a statement to the Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE), where its shares are listed.

In view of the wide investment cycle that is ahead, and the drop in air transport caused by the recession, the company has no funds that it can invest in the purchase of its own or other shares,” it added.

SOD owned 258,958 shares of Aerodrom Ljubljana, equal to a 6.82% stake, at the end of September.

Aerodrom Ljubljana reported a group net profit of 9.707 million euro in the first nine months of 2008, down from 15.554 million euro in the year-ago period.

Shares of Aerodrom Ljubljana, part of the broader SBI20 index of the LJSE, rose 4.35% to an average price of 29.03 euro on Friday. The company released its statement after the end of trading.

($ = 0.7921 euro)