Czech equities, as measured by the PX Index, were up 1.3% for the week to close at 1,811.5. The overall volume of trading on the PSE reached USD 988.9m, 13% above its 12M weekly average of USD 874.8m.
The main Prague benchmark reached new record levels during the past week. CEZ, the most actively traded stock, broke through the magic CZK 1,000 level but by the end of the week, it closed slightly below this milestone. The stock was supported by the earlier than expected convergence of Czech electricity prices to the German standard. The best performance of the past week was shown by Zentiva and Philip Morris. Philip Morris gained 2.4% despite the disappointing 1Q07 results of its mother company Altria. Our analysts cut the fair value of PMCR to CZK 10,537, but our recommendation on the stock remains unchanged. Unipetrol strengthened on rumors about a possible share buy back. Komercni banka also finished stronger on the speculation about the SoGe merger with the UniCredit Group. Telefonica O2 CR increased by 1.7% on the back of interest coming from international accounts. This week, CEZ‘s shareholders, at their annual general meeting, approved the dividend of CZK 20 per share and the share buy back plan.
On Tuesday, April 24, ECM will announce its NAV together with its audited 2006 results. The market consensus is for EUR 52, while our rough estimate stands closer to EUR 40. Telefonica O2 CR will release its 1Q07 figures on April 26. We expect net earnings to come in at CZK 2.05bn, while the market's consensus is CZK 2.2bn.
Orco will trade for the last day with its dividend on Thursday, April 26 (the proposal is for EUR 1 per share). Philip Morris, ECM, Komercni banka, Telefonica O2 CR and Orco also hold AGMs this week.