Baltic Morning News
Tallink reports preliminary Q1. In Q1/06-07, the total revenues of Estonian shipping company Tallink amounted to EEK 2.98b, rising ca 3x yoy. Net profit came in at EEK 115m, corresponding to a margin of 3.86%. The results were positively affected by number of acquisitions and reorganization of fleet. Full report is due next week. Also, during yesterday's AGM, Tallink confirmed that they will not pay dividends for 2005/06.
Starman launches VOD. Estonian cableTV operator Starman is introducing video-on-demand service, being the first in Estonia. At first, Starman will serve 500 customers in Tallinn region. We believe Elion, the fully owned subsidiary of Eesti Telekom (Buy), will soon follow. Given the low number of customers and moderate price of the new service, it will not generate much revenue in the beginning. However, in the longer term, we see it as an interesting addition to overall sales.
Baltics on top of EU inflation. Eurostat published a review of Euro area annual inflation. The average inflation in Euro area was 1.9% in December 2006, unchanged compared to November. Not a surprise, Baltics topped in the list. The highest December inflation was in Latvia, equal to 6.8% yoy. Estonia posted the second highest inflation at 5.1%. Also Lithuania's December inflation of 4.5% can be taken as quite high. The 12-month average inflation was 4.4% in Estonia, 6.6% in Latvia, and 3.8% in Lithuania. To join the euro, Baltics should be aiming for inflation rate around 3%
Lithuania's current account deficit up 50% in a month. According to Lithuanian Central Bank, the current account deficit in November stood at LTL 1.17b, up LTL 389m or by almost 50%. According to preliminary estimates, CAD from January to November 2006 was LTL 8.55b, up from 4.7b y-o-y. Not a surprise either, the question is how far can it go.
Highest concentration of non-driving people. According to the results of Eurobarometer survey, more than 59% of Latvians and 50% of Lithuanians do not have a driver's license. The average ratio for new EU member states is 47%, while it is 25% in the old EU15. Luxembourg and Sweden are on the top, as only 16% of the people cannot drive.