ROSINTER, PZU AND FONDUL PROPIETATEA RECOGNISED AS THE MOST OUTSTANDING COMPANIES IN EASTERN EUROPE AT THE 2010 EAST CAPITAL AWARDS
East Capital today announced the winners of the 2010 East Capital Awards held at an annual gala awards ceremony in Stockholm last night.
The East Capital Awards recognise the most outstanding companies within Eastern Europe across three categories: Best Growth, Best IPO and Discovery of the Year.
Peter Elam Håkansson, Chairman of East Capital and Head of Portfolio Management said, "We have been highly impressed with the resilience and achievements of our portfolio companies through the financial crisis recovery period. Over the past year Rosinter, PZU and Fondul Proprietatea were stand-out performers in terms of strong business growth and high potential for continued performance."
"We have established and maintain a strong network of contacts with companies and decision makers in the region, conducting over 1,000 company visits and meetings every year. We have been highly impressed with the progress of each of our winning companies this year and congratulate them on their success."
Russian restaurant operator Rosinter won the Best Growth Award due to outstanding growth in 2009 and 2010. Despite the recent financial crisis, the company opened 118 restaurants over 2008-2009 and has a target to open more than 100 new restaurants in the next two years, bringing its total to 450 across Russia and CIS.
Polish insurance company PZU was chosen as the Best IPO with its US$2.8bn listing in May 2010 being a record in Poland's history and the largest in the EU in 2010. Since its first day of trading on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, PZU's share price has continued to perform strongly, gaining over 20%.
Fondul Proprietatea, the Romanian restitution fund with a portfolio largely geared towards the oil, gas and power utilities sectors won the Discovery of the Year Award. Fondul Proprietatea's recent appointment of an investment manager paves the way for the Fund's listing on the Bucharest stock exchange and will unlock further value for shareholders and new institutional investors alike, providing exposure to undervalued assets.
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Notes to Editors:
The East Capital Awards have been held since 2004 to reward the progress of outstanding companies in Eastern Europe. This year's winners received their awards at a gala presentation dinner at the Grand Hotel (Vinterträdgården) in Stockholm on 10 November 2010.
The award for Best Growth is presented to the company that has demonstrated the best growth in sales, assets and profit margins in recent years. The Best IPO award is awarded to the company that has carried out the most successful flotation in the region. Discovery of the Year is awarded to the company that displays unique qualities and which is expected to demonstrate strong future performance.
For further information about the winning companies, please visit:
Best Growth Award 2010 - Rosinter
Best IPO Award 2010 - PZU
Discovery of the Year Award 2010 - Fondul Proprietatea
East Capital will today host the East Capital Awards Seminar at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, to discuss the latest trends in emerging markets. Please see www.eastcapital.com/awards for further details.
Contact information:
Vesna Lucca, Head of Communications, East Capital
+46 70 601 92 20
vesna.lucca@eastcapital.com
About East Capital
East Capital is a leading, independent asset manager specialising in Eastern European financial markets. It actively manages over 4.6bn EUR basing its investment strategy on thorough knowledge of the markets, fundamental analysis and frequent company visits by its investment teams. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Stockholm with offices in Hong Kong, Kyiv, Moscow, Oslo, Paris, Shanghai, Tallinn and Vienna.
www.eastcapital.com