Pannonplast boosts Q3 profit with Synergon stake

Net income for the three months ended September 30 was Ft 396 million ($1.95 million) compared with a loss of Ft 12 million a year earlier, the Budapest-based company said in a statement to the stock exchange today. The company booked a Ft 300 million gain on the revaluation of its stake in Synergon Nyrt, the top performer in the benchmark BUX Index this year. Its shares have more than doubled as the computer company won new contracts. Pannonplast Nyrt has focused on investments in companies in the region after demand for its packaging waned, forcing it to sell property and unprofitable units. The company bought its first stake in Synergon in May for an undisclosed sum and said earlier this month it plans to sell a third of the holding. Sales in the Q3 at Pannonplast slumped 35% to Ft 3.44 billion, the company said. It has reduced its workforce to 677 people from 773 at the end of the first half. Shares of Pannonplast were unchanged at Ft 3,400 at 11:02 am in Budapest, giving the company a market value of Ft 14.3 billion. They have risen 75% this year. (Bloomberg)