HungaryTrends – The previous week in business and finance
See below main business and financial news from the previous week:
Bullet train coming between Budapest and Warsaw!
More and more news is being revealed on the high-speed railway that is being planned to run between Budapest and Warsaw, read more HERE.
The richest Hungarian billionaires in 2019 and how their fortune increased over the years
The list of the 100 richest Hungarians comes out each year since 2002. It is only May, but this year’s list is already quite different from last year’s. One thing is for sure: the rich are getting richer by the year, especially if they have the right kind of friends. Details HERE.
Domestic tourism expands, but the most popular destinations are still the same
Domestic tourism has increased by 8.3 % in the first quarter. On average, 36,730 forints (113 euros) were spent on a reservation, while the busiest day was during the long weekend in March. Read more HERE.
HIGHER COSTS DRAG MTEL EARNINGS LOWER
First-quarter after-tax profit of Magyar Telekom dropped by 58 percent year-on-year to 4 billion forints (EUR 12.4m) as costs outpaced revenue growth, an earnings report showed. Revenue increased by 6 percent to 158.9 billion forints, but direct costs climbed at double that pace to 66.8 billion forints.
DRENIK TO INVEST EUR 24.7m IN EXPANSION IN HUNGARY
Plans were announced by Serbian-owned paper maker Drenik to spend 8 billion forints (EUR 24.7m) to expand capacity and broaden the product palette at its base in Szolnok, in central Hungary. Hungary’s government is supporting the investment, which will create 110 jobs, with a 1.4 billion forint cash grant. Output at the base will double from an annual 20,000 tonnes in three years.
GUARDIAN GLASS WINDS UP EUR 12.7M INVESTMENT
American-owned Guardian Glass inaugurated a 4.1 billion forint (EUR 12.7m) laminated glass production line at its plant in Orosháza, in south-eastern Hungary. The new line will turn out enough product to fill 150 lorries a month.
WABERER’S BOOKS Q1 LOSS; MANAGEMENT AUGURS IMPROVEMENT IN H2
Hungarian hauler Waberer’s booked a first-quarter loss of 4.4 million euros as margins narrowed, an earnings report showed.
CEO Róbert Ziegler said the Q1 loss “reflects that the headwinds on the transportation and logistics market that we faced in 2018 have not disappeared”. He added that management is implementing “substantial” changes that are expected to yield improvement in the second half of the year.
NEW HOME BUILDING PERMITS FALL 2.1 PC IN Q1 AS VAT CUT-OFF NEARS
The number of home building permits issued in Hungary fell by 2.1 percent year-on-year to 9,639 in the first quarter, data released by KSH showed. The preferential 5 percent rate on new homes is set to revert back to the main 27 percent rate at the end of 2019.
NBH TO PAY HUF 50 BN DIVIDEND
The board of the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) decided to pay a 50 billion forint (EUR 15.5m) dividend into the central budget. The central bank will top up 47.8 billion forints in earnings from last year with profit reserves.
ACADEMY MEMBERS VOTE TO KEEP RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS; GOVT STAND UNCHANGED
Around 70 percent of members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) voted in support of a proposal to keep its network of research institutions within the organisation of the Academy.
Innovation and Technology Minister László Palkovics said the government’s stand on removing the institutions from under the aegis of the Academy is unchanged. The government intends to significantly raise financing, but not in the manner the Academy’s general assembly imagines, he added.
Source: MTI
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