UPDATE 1 - Croatian government's stake in Djuro Djakovic drops to 22.45%

The state holdings decreased on October 23 after the government's centre for enterprise restructuring and privatisation, CERP, transferred the stake of 8.7% to Ivan Bozidar Ivanovic, Djuro Djakovic said in a filing to the Zagreb Stock Exchange.

CERP transferred the stake comprising 883,589 Djuro Djakovic's shares to Ivanovic as a compensation for property seized during the communist rule of the former Yugoslavia, the statement said.

Following the transaction, the government held 2,279,413 Djuro Djakovic's shares as of October 28, representing 22.45% of the group's total capital, of which 14.36% was kept at its account in CERP, while the remaining 8.09% was kept at its account at local lender HPB.

Moreover, the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute, HZMO, owns 6.5% of Djuro Djakovic, and CERP itself has a 0.04% stake. Outside the government and its funds, local individual Nenad Bakic controls the largest single stake of 17.71% in Djuro Djakovic, according to October 29 ZSE data.

Last week, blue-chip Djuro Djakovic said it is in talks with creditors, trying to resolve a liquidity crisis which has left it short of funds to pay out the September salaries to employees.

The group and two of its four affiliated companies were unable to pay their workers wages for September due to liquidity shortage.

Some 600 employees went on strike last week, demanding the payment of their wages arrears and the resignation of the management board director.

According to media reports this week, Djuro Djakovic is still in talks on finding financing.

The group swung to a consolidated net loss of 16.2 million kuna ($2.4 million/2.2 million euro) in the first half of the year, from a net profit of 5 million kuna in the like period of 2018.

Its main business lines are manufacturing of equipment for steelworks, industrial and power plants and production of rolling stock and special-purpose motor vehicles.

Djuro Djakovic's shares traded down 6.35% at 4.72 kuna on the Zagreb bourse by 1041 CET on Tuesday.

(1 euro = 7.45736 kuna)