Hungary’s dominant communications firm Magyar Telekom (MT) plans to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on 9 October 2006, it said in a statement. The meeting will be used as a platform to inform shareholders about the state of the company’s general operations and to provide detail on the ongoing investigation into two controversial contracts. The inquiry, announced in March, centres on deals worth HUF700 million (USD3.2 million) involving two of its foreign subsidiaries. The investigation has prevented the incumbent from approving its 2005 annual report.
Earlier this month MT reported revenues of HUF162.9 billion (USD778.4 million) in the three months to June 2006, up 4.2% year-on-year, but its profits underperformed, falling nearly 10% below analysts’ consensus forecasts. MT booked net profits of HUF17.98 billion in the period under review, down 23.2% year-on-year, while EBITDA stood at HUF62.7 billion, nearly HUF1 billion less than the markets expected. Analysts say that MT’s recent acquisitions and expansion plans have thus far failed to achieve the required results and will not please its investors.