Budapest (MTI) – See below MTI’s main business and financial news from the previous week:
OTP Bank’s fourth-quarter after-tax profit climbed by an annual 70 percent to 28.3 billion forints (EUR 91.5m) as net revenue from commissions and fees rose and the lender’s “other non-interest income” doubled, a consolidated earnings report showed.
The board of Hungarian oil and gas company MOL will propose payment of a 53.2 billion forint dividend on last year’s earnings, CFO László Bencsik said after the lender released its fourth-quarter earnings report. The dividend works out to a little more than 190 forints per share, after taking into account treasury shares.
Hungarian oil and gas company MOL booked net income of 43.5 billion forints in the fourth quarter, improving over a 435.3 billion forint loss in the base period, when it wrote down more than 500 billion forints on production assets, an earnings report showed. After-tax profit reached 32.1 billion forints, well under the 53.5 billion forint estimate by analysts polled by Portfolio.hu.
The National Bank of Hungary’s Monetary Council decided to keep the central bank’s key rate on hold at 0.90 percent, as expected. The council has left the base rate on hold since signalling an end to an easing cycle at a policy meeting in May 2016.
Hungary’s economy has to grow by an annual 3-5 percent in the coming years and the rate should climb over 5 percent after 2020, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at an event hosted by the Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (MKIK). Read more HERE.
The Budapest Municipal Council voted to withdraw the capital’s bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games, acting on a recommendation made a week earlier by local council leaders and the heads of ruling Fidesz.
https://dailynewshungary.com/budapest-withdraws-olympic-bid/
Investments in Hungary plunged 24.1 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, albeit from a high base, data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) show.
Corporate lending stock of Hungarian banks climbed by 4 percent last year, the fastest rate since the crisis, the National Bank of Hungary said in a quarterly report on lending trends. In absolute terms, corporate lending stock was up by 240 billion forints.
In the last five years the ratio of banks’ non-performing loans — those past 90 days due — compared to their gross lending stock has steadily fallen from a peak 14.1 percent at the end of 2013 to 6.4 percent by the end of 2016, data released by the National Bank of Hungary showed.
Swiss-owned RUAG Aerostructures inaugurated a 2 billion forint aircraft parts plant in Eger (NE Hungary). The plant will turn out fuselage and wing parts for Airbus and Bombardier aircraft.