November 30 (SeeNews) - Majority state-owned Telekom Slovenije said on Friday its group net profit for the first nine months of 2007 fell by 2.0% on the year to 74.95 million euro ($109.6 million) despite a rise in sales.
Group net sales through September rose by 5.0% year-on-year to 582 million euro, the company said in its unaudited nine-month financial report.
“The results are not encouraging at all. They show bigger stagnation compared to the first nine months of last year,” Bine Pangrsic, an analyst with local brokerage house Medvesek Pusnik, told SeeNews.
Shares in blue chip Telekom Slovenije added 0.36% to an average price of 400.18 euro on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange on Friday.
Pangrsic said that the nine-month results had no influence on the company’s share price. “People are waiting for the binding bids [for the 49.13% stake in Telekom Slovenije],” he added.
Last month the country's Economy Ministry said it had shortlisted seven candidates for the second stage of the sale of 49.13% of Telekom Slovenije, in which potential buyers have to submit binding bids by December 18.
Parent net profit for the first nine months of 2007 fell to 72.1 million euro from 86.3 million euro a year earlier. Group net sales through September rose by 3.0% on the year to 297.9 milion euro.
($ = 0.68 euro)