HungaryTrends – The most important business and financial news

See below main Hungarian business and financial news from the previous week:

HUNGARIAN TOURISM CONTINUES TO SKYROCKET IN 2018

The latest results of the 2018 report of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) examining the global and domestic impact of tourism in 185 countries including Hungary. According to the results of the research, the positive tendency witnessed in the tourism of Hungary is going to continue in the future, and an even greater growth is expected in some domains in subsequent years. Read more HERE.

NEW CARSHARING SYSTEM IN BUDAPEST IS THE BOMB

Approximately 800-900 people use the new carsharing service of MOL in Budapest. The vehicles of the system have already travelled more than 400,000 kilometres. There are certain hotspots in the Hungarian capital that are especially popular among the users of carsharing. Read more HERE.

CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT JUMPS 26 PC IN FEBRUARY

The output of Hungary’s construction sector rose by an annual 26 percent in February, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said. The output of the building segment increased by 19.8 percent during the period. The output of the civil engineering segment climbed 40.1 percent. Read more HERE.

HUNGARIAN BATH TOURISM SKYROCKETING IN SPRING

Budapest’s baths have increased their traffic by almost 20 percent during last March. Medicine waters seem to be attractive for tourists, which is proven by the fact that 60 percent of them also buys a ticket for some of the baths in the capital. Read more HERE.

OTP SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE HUF 219-PER-SHARE DIVIDEND

Shareholders of OTP Bank, Hungary’s biggest commercial lender, approved payment of a 219-forint-per-share dividend on last year’s earnings at an annual general meeting. The dividend fund comes to 61.3 billion forints (EUR 197m). This year is likely to be “intensive” with regard to acquisitions, said chairman-CEO Sándor Csányi. Hopefully, OTP can announce the details at the beginning or in the middle of summer, he added.

MOL SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE HUF 127.5-PER-SHARE DIVIDEND

Shareholders of Hungarian oil and gas company MOL approved payment of a 127.5-forint-per-share dividend on last year’s earnings at an annual general meeting. The dividend fund comes to 94.2 billion forints (EUR 303m). MOL’s board continued its practice of raising the base dividend by 9 percent from the previous year, but also proposed sharing free cash flows with shareholders in the form of a 50 percent top-up. Read more HERE.

MTEL SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE HUF 25-PER-SHARE DIVIDEND

Shareholders of Magyar Telekom approved a proposal to pay a 25-per-share dividend on last year’s earnings at an annual general meeting on Tuesday. The 26.1 billion forints (EUR 83.9m) dividend will be paid from 41.9 billion forints after-tax profit. The record date for the dividend is May 15.

GENERAL GOVERNMENT DEFICIT REACHES 64 PC OF FULL-YEAR TARGET IN MARCH

Hungary’s cash flow-based general government, excluding local councils, ran an 871.9 billion forint (EUR 2.8bn) deficit at the end of March, the economy ministry said in a preliminary release. The deficit reached 64.1 percent of the 1,360.7 billion forint full-year target. The gap was widened by pre-financing for European Union-funded projects.

HUNGARY CPI EDGES UP TO 2.0 PC IN MARCH

Consumer prices in Hungary rose by 2.0 percent annually in March, edging up from 1.9 percent in the previous month, KSH said. Spirits and tobacco prices jumped by 6.8 percent and food prices climbed 4.1 percent.

FOOD, RUBBER AND PLASTIC MAKERS LIFT INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT

Food companies and rubber and plastic makers lifted Hungary’s industrial output in February, a second reading of data released by KSH showed. Output of food companies climbed an annual 7.6 percent in February, and output of rubber, plastic and non-metal mineral producers jumped by 18.8 percent, the data show. Output of automotive industry companies, a key driver of growth in Hungary, rose just by 2.1 percent.

TESCO HUNGARY REVENUE REACHES HUF 577 BN FOR FINANCIAL YEAR

UK supermarket company Tesco booked revenue of 577.2 billion forints (EUR 1.86bn), excluding VAT, at its unit in Hungary in the business year ended February 28, an earnings report showed. There are 206 Tesco stores in Hungary.

KOMÉTA TURNOVER EXCEEDS HUF 43 BN IN 2017

Turnover of meat processing company Kométa, based in Kaposvár in southwestern Hungary, rose by 19 percent to 43 billion forints (EUR 138m) last year, managing director Giacomo Pedranzini said. Almost half of Kométa’s output is sold in Italy.

Source: MTI