Állami Nyomda profits under expectations, CEO says

Állami Nyomda CEO Gábor Zsámboki has told MTI the printing company's profits were under expectations last year.

Zsámboki noted that he was prohibited from revealing any concrete figures before the listed company publishes its 2011 annual report at the end of February, but said profit was "under expectations", adding that there "appears to be no big problem on the revenue side".

He said Állami Nyomda's clients in the public sector had cut back their orders in the second half of 2011. The company lost its contract to print student IDs, after more than a decade, to National Bank of Hungary unit Pénzjegynyomda according to a government resolution; and it was also affected -- as a printer of Sodexo vouchers in Hungary and many other countries in the region -- by the government decision to restructure the country's voucher system, he added.

Trading companies and clients in the public administration cut back orders, especially in the second half of 2011, Zsámboki said.

"The company is looking at a difficult year ahead," Zsámboki said, explaining that clients were cutting spending on more expensive services, which have higher added value, while higher energy prices, a minimum wage hike and the weak forint were also impacting the company unfavorably.

He said Állami Nyomda's was managing the situation with a horizontal and vertical restructuring. He added that the company still planned developments and aimed to counter negative effects in the mid-term.

The long-term outlook remains good, as the company makes new document security developments and starts participating in trusted services manager (TSM) mobile payment systems, he said.