Eastern Europe Weekly Market Overview Issue 18, May 13, 2008 Indices weekly change Market View Banks and companies raised USD 20bn on the world’s equity capital markets last week in a sign of growing confidence among investors that the worst of the financial crisis may be over. Equity capital markets only saw more activity the week after the rescue of investment bank Bear Stearns on March 16 – seen by many bankers and investors as the trigger for improving sentiment. Chinese stocks suffered a steep sell-off on Wednesday as concerns about inflation and economic growth gathered pace. The Shanghai composite index tumbled 4.1% to 3,579.15 points. Consumer price inflation data for April is due out next Monday, and analysts expect only a moderate easing from the 8.3% rate recorded in March – well above the government’s target of 4.8%. OMX Vilnius OMX Tallinn OMX Riga RTS Russia WSE Poland Prague Budapest Bucharest PFTS Ukraine CROBEX Zagreb SOFIX Bulgaria 439 615 542 2284 47599 1637 23119 6950 914 3917 1142 Weekly change YTD change -0.7% +2.3% +2.7% +6.7% +0.4% -0.5% +1.0% -2.8% +3.2% +5.9% +0.4% -14.6% -17.1% -8.9% -0.3% -14.5% -9.8% -11.9% -29.3% -21.7% -25.2% -35.4% Oil prices set new records each day this week and spiked above USD 126 a barrel as traders asked where crude’s bull run might end. Continuing supply problems in Nigeria provided fundamental support, but it was a warning this week from Goldman Sachs that oil prices could reach USD 200 a barrel that sent oil bears running for cover. The euro dropped to a two-month low against the dollar this week as a growing feeling that the single currency might have peaked gripped the market. The euro, which just last month hit a record high of USD 1.6018 against the dollar, plunged to a low of USD 1.5287 on Thursday. Baltic Markets Stocks to watch Sector Ūkio bankas Olympic Ent. group TEO Apranga Baltika Silvano Fashion Group Banking Entertainment Telecom Retail Retail Retail Ticker Last price UKB1L OEG1T TEO1L APG1L BLT1T SFGAT LTL 3.22 EUR 2.53 LTL 2.01 LTL 9.140 EUR 2.36 EUR 3.12 Mcap EUR million 183 382 452 93 44 125 P/E trailing 8 16 9 14 85 8 EV/ EBITDA 8 4 7 8 5 Weekly change +1.3% -0.8% 0.0% +1.6% +4.9% +4% YTD change -13% -28% -15% -36% -39% -29% News Olympic Casino Q1 2008 results OEG1T consolidated unaudited operating results for Q1, 2008 Revenue: EUR 44.419bn (yoy +50.7%) MP Investment Bank | Skipholt 50d | 105 Reykjavik | Iceland | Tel +354 540 3200 | Fax +354 540 3201 | info@mp.is | www.mp.is Net profit: EUR 3.956bn (yoy -25.1%) Consolidated revenue for Q1 2008 was positively influenced by the contribution of newly acquired companies as well as organic and expansion-triggered revenue growth. At the end of March 2008, the group had 125 casinos with a total area of 35,630 m2. The number of casinos increased by 43 compared to the same period of last year. Consolidated net profit for the first 3 months of 2008 was affected by unrealised exchange differences - a net exchange loss of EUR 0.9m as a result of significant fluctuations in the euro-US dollar exchange rate. Baltika April sales BLT1T consolidated net sales in April totalled EUR 6.17m and increased by 10% compared to April the previous year. Retail sales grew by 15% yoy to reach EUR 5.4m. Baltika’s April retail sales grew 45% in Poland, 21% in Russia, 18% in Latvia, 14% in Ukraine, 9% in Estonia and 5% in Lithuania. At the end of the month, the group had 125 stores with a total sales area of 24,462 m2. In the same month, the group opened a store in Kaliningrad, Russia, entering into a new city. BLT1T’s cumulative 4-month sales amounted to EUR 23.2m (up 2% yoy), including retail sales of EUR 19.8m (up 8%). Apranga April sales APG1L reported retail turnover (including VAT ) of LTL 39m in April 2008, 28.8% more than in April 2007. Retail turnover (including VAT ) was LTL 160.5m in January to April, an increase of 31.5% comparing to the corresponding period of 2007. Apranga Group has opened 3 new stores in 2008: S.Oliver in Riga, and Aprangos Galerija and Stradivarius in Vilnius. The group currently operates a chain of 86 stores (57 in Lithuania, 24 in Latvia, and 5 in Estonia). . APG1L versus BLT1T APR sales without VAT EUR m (% yoy) 4 months sales without P/S VAT EUR m(% yoy) P/E APG1L 9.57 (+28.8%) 39.4 (+31.5%) 0.81 14.3 Last price 2008-05-06 (% ytd) LTL 9.22 (-35.9%) BLT1T 6.17 (+10%) 23.2 (+1%) 0.59 95 EUR 2.36 (-39.5%) MCAP EUR m 94 44 Investors’ calendar Date Company Event 10 May UKB1L 2008 4 months results 30 May APG1L Q1 2008 results 30 May IVL1L Q1 2008 results MP Investment Bank | Skipholt 50d | 105 Reykjavik | Iceland | Tel +354 540 3200 | Fax +354 540 3201 | info@mp.is | www.mp.is Russia Stocks to watch Unified Energy X5 Magnit Sberbank VTB Sector Ticker Last price USD Mcap USD million P/E trailing EV/ EBITDA ‘06 Weekly change YTD change Energy Retail Retail Banking Banking UESD LI FIVE LI MGNT SBER RU VTBR LI 104.5 34.2 44.4 3.44 7.9 42888 7403 3197 74259 26560 42 54 10 29 23 +9.7% -2.3% +1.5% +0.5% +2.5% -19.6% -6.3% -12.1% -18.5% -22.5% 21 News Goldman Sachs lifts 12-month estimate for Russia’s RTS to 2,750 Russia’s RTS Index may climb 20% in the next year, led by oil companies amid record crude prices, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said. The New York securities firm raised its 12-month estimate for the dollar-denominated RTS by 12% to 2,750, recommending shares in OAO Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural-gas company, OAO Lukoil, Russia’s second-biggest oil producer, and OAO Surgutneftegaz, the fourth-biggest oil producer. Hungary and Poland may adopt euro in 2013, UniCredit says Euro-adoption targets for most central and eastern European nations have been pushed back as far as 2013 and 2014 because of accelerating inflation, said UniCredit Group SpA, Italy’s largest bank. Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, which joined the European Union in 2004, will be able to adopt the single currency by 2013. Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the 27-nation bloc in 2007, will meet terms for euro adoption by 2014, the bank forecast. “The prospect of euro adoption is an important anchor for most countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007,” Unicredit said. “Meeting the inflation criterion poses a special challenge, because of the price pressure observed almost all over central and eastern Europe.” Central Eastern Europe Stocks to watch ČEZ group MOL group Synergon Holding Country Sector Ticker Last price Mcap USD million P/E trailing Czech Rep. Hungary Bulgaria Energy Oil Holding CEZ MOL PETHL CZK 1241 HUF 23575 BGL 8.62 44063 12418 110 17 9 9 EV/ EBITDA Weekly change YTD change 9 +0.8% +1.2% +0.6% -9.0% -3.8% -41.0% News Exxon, Mol may ship Hungarian gas to rest of Europe Exxon Mobil Corp., Mol Nyrt. and Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. may ship Hungarian natural gas to western Europe to boost supplies in a region increasingly concerned that Russia may reduce exports. Gas from Mako, a collection of fields twice the size of Los Angeles, could loosen OAO Gazprom’s hold over European supplies. Demand in the 27-member European Union, the largest energy consumer after the U.S., rose by about 10% in the past five years. The urgency of finding new fuel sources intensified after European shipments were reduced when Gazprom cut supplies to Ukraine in 2006 over a pricing dispute. MP Investment Bank | Skipholt 50d | 105 Reykjavik | Iceland | Tel +354 540 3200 | Fax +354 540 3201 | info@mp.is | www.mp.is Company of the week AS Tallink Grupp is the leading European ferry operator offering high-quality mini-cruise, passenger transport services and roll-on roll-off cargo services in the Baltic Sea. The company owns and operates passenger ferries, including cruise ferries, fast ro-pax ferries, ro-ro cargo vessels and a high-speed ferry. Current routes connect Estonia and Finland, Sweden and Finland, Estonia and Sweden, Finland and Germany, and Latvia and Sweden. Altogether, Tallink transported nearly 7m passengers and approximately 360,000 ro-ro cargo units in the financial year up to 31 August 2007. The company also operates two hotels in Tallinn. AS Tallink Grupp Ticker Price EUR Mcap EUR m P/E trailing P/S TAL1T 0.81 543 9.1 0.7 Stock chart for 1 year: Reasearch: Gintare Urbanovič - Financial Analyst - Tel +370 526 39981 - gintare@mp.is Eastern European Trading Desk: Darius Krizinauskas, Specialist – Tel +354 540 3217 – darius@mp.is Mindaugas Gataveckas, Specialist – Tel +370 5 212 76 09 – mindaugas@mp.is This report is written by employees of MP Investment Bank for information purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation to deal in any security. The estimates, opinions and forecasts reflect our good-faith judgment at the date of publication, and they may change without notice. Although the information published in this report comes from sources we believe to be reliable, and although we have made every effort to ensure its accuracy at the time of publication, we do not make any warranty, express or implied, of this report’s usefulness in predicting the future performance, or in estimating the current or future value, of any security. This report should neither be regarded as a complete description of the securities or markets referred to herein. Any opinions expressed may differ from opinions on the same subject expressed by other business departments of MP Investment Bank as a result of employing different assumptions or methodology. 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MP Investment Bank | Skipholt 50d | 105 Reykjavik | Iceland | Tel +354 540 3200 | Fax +354 540 3201 | info@mp.is | www.mp.is