SEV: Why hide it? What happened in recent days and was recorded in yesterday’s report shows a serious difference of opinion within the ranks of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises and Industries.
The country’s top employers’ organization has for some time appeared to struggle to express Greek industry in a unified way (from which it also originated), having expanded to the point that it now includes businesses from every sector of activity. The tension has been simmering for some years now, at the level of undercurrents, to put it somewhat poetically.
However, the fact that 16 different industry organizations across Greece issued a public letter to the government, without SEV’s signature, shows that the currents are now developing into a full-blown storm.
SEV president, Spiros Theodoropoulos, said yesterday that contacts with the government are already taking place, expressed hope that they will bear fruit, and explained that he did not want to disrupt them by participating in public letters. Nevertheless, the information according to which the issue of his signature was not even raised, because he was informed afterward, persists.
In any case, the fact that all industry organizations signed the letter shows that either they had not been adequately informed by the president, or they believe that Mr. Theodoropoulos sees the matter with more… optimism than he should.
SEV II: Our sources tell us that the drafting of this letter was spearheaded by the president of the Federation of Industries of Greece, Loukia Saranti, of AKRITAS, a second-generation industrialist, who has acquired a reputation for not mincing her words, after 40 years on the industrial front lines, and that in general, she does not… scare easily.
Be that as it may, the letter seems to have achieved its goal, alarming not only the government but also SEV’s administration.
From the government’s side, this was already evident from yesterday, when leaks began according to which “every effort” would be made to support industry, but blame the “fiscal space”, which does not leave much room.
In SEV’s corridors, meanwhile, it is being said that the president will have to be very careful about his stance in the next contacts with the government, ahead of the open General Assembly on October 6.
Because through the mini-rebellion with the letter, industry appears to have drawn a “red line”, beyond which there may be unprecedented reactions, even within SEV itself.
KAMMENOS: Old loves are not forgotten even if they proved mismatched and time carried them away. For how else can one interpret Panos Kammenos’ predictions about the political future of ELAS and Alexis Tsipras?
“I don’t think PASOK has room for recovery, that story is over now, everything has its cycle. I believe that all these people will go to Tsipras”, he said (on Kontra), adding to the qualifications of his former governing partner experience, because “he has served as prime minister”, so “he has governed, he has learned from mistakes he has made”.
Now, as for what Mr. Kammenos added about how Trump… thawed toward the then prime minister, we can’t tell you whether he meant it for good or bad: “When we went for the visit to the White House, Trump was cold because the services were telling him that Tsipras was left-wing and anarchist”, but he himself told him that “these agreements are made much more easily with a left-wing prime minister than with a right-wing one”. Concluding that in the end “the agreements went through in a soft and nice way”.
If among the “agreements” he also includes the Prespa Agreement, because of which the ANEL withdrew from the government with SYRIZA, what can we say. To some it sounds positive and to others negative, because it depends on the perspective from which one sees things…
TSIPRAS: Tsipras’ argument about the abundant time he gave his comrades or his rivals (see Harilaou Trikoupi) to step forward when he resigned from the presidency of SYRIZA in 2023 has been conveyed by this column on other occasions.
“He stayed on the sidelines for three years and gave every opportunity to everyone, and personally to Nikos Androulakis, to fill the gap. If he did not manage it, it is not Tsipras’ fault and he has no right to be outraged by his return to the central political scene”, says a regular interlocutor of the former prime minister.
ANDROULAKIS: The PASOK president, however, has a different view: “For three years, while he was an MP, he did not speak even once, on any issue, from wiretapping and the Tempi tragedy to the OPEKEPE scandal, while he dismantled his former party.
He bears responsibility for the vacuum, which we with our daily work were trying to cover every day, especially after we found ourselves overnight, after SYRIZA’s second split, in the position of the official opposition. And he wags his finger at us?”, is Mr. Androulakis’ (condensed) counterargument.
To be objective, Tsipras’ resignation and the effective dissolution of SYRIZA created the best conditions for PASOK to soar in the polls. On the contrary, from time to time it lost (temporarily) second place to Zoe Konstantopoulou and Maria Karystianou, until it lost it again to the newly founded ELAS.
If it regains it… permanently, it will win the game. Otherwise…
ANDROULAKIS II: The fact that the head of PASOK will again be in Parliament today to speak from its podium should not surprise regular readers of the column. Which has conveyed the PASOK president’s tactic of choosing Parliament for “big battles,” precisely in order to exploit the absence of ELAS and Tsipras (who are outside Parliament).
The occasion for today’s… raid on the parliamentary palace will be a bill on fisheries, but we learn that the presidential speech will focus on the familiar issues: high prices, price at the pump, permanent taxation of excess profits.
If he draws dynamic reactions from the government benches, even better.
METRO: We were expecting data on the damage to homes in Kypseli, but we saw no data. At the extraordinary Municipal Council of the Municipality of Athens, which took place yesterday, many involved parties were present: Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Nikos Tachiaos, representatives of Elliniko Metro, the AVAX-GHELLA-ALSTOM consortium and the Kypseli Residents’ Initiative.
Despite expectations that there would be an initial picture from the TEE inspections regarding the damage to the buildings, owners will have to wait a little longer. It is noted that an initial assessment of the damage has already been made by the consortium.
The project director of Athens Line 4, Nikos Spyridonakos, on behalf of the AVAX-GHELLA-ALSTOM consortium, said that the goal is to proceed with the repairs and any other interventions required for the safe restart of the TBM, that is, the tunnel boring machine.
Meanwhile, with the assistance of academics and foreign experts, the consortium has submitted to Elliniko Metro a report on the methodology for the safe restart of the tunnel boring machine.
And for those wondering what is happening beneath Kypseli, the answer is that it is being closely monitored.
On a 24-hour basis, 700 monitoring instruments and 2,000 sensors record changes in the tunnel and on the surface. Since May, according to the consortium, no indications of movements have been recorded, while those that were recorded are below the margins of error.
As for the damage, however, the floor now passes to the TEE.
DOMAZAKIS: The name Domazakis returns to the business reporting of the food sector, this time through Rapid Foods. Emmanouil Domazakis, one of the two shareholder brothers who had for years linked their name with Creta Farms, is now at the helm of a new corporate vehicle, as the column learned.
Rapid Foods Single-Member S.A. was established a few hours ago, with capital of 25,000 euros and an object of wholesale trade in food, beverages and tobacco.
The sole shareholder is Rapid Financial Applications Ltd., while Mr. Domazakis himself assumes the role of Advisor–Manager.
GEOMILO: A new player is making its appearance in the Greek food market, focusing on potatoes and fruit and vegetables.
GEOMILO Single-Member S.A. was established on September 23 with initial share capital of 387,243 euros, targeting a broad range of activities, from the production of peeled and cut potatoes to wholesale trade, frozen potatoes and storage services.
Its articles of association even open the way for imports, exports, logistics and the creation of production facilities, outlining a business plan with ambitions beyond simple commercial activity.
AVAX: The listed company’s second-quarter results were within market estimates, with turnover decreasing by 9% year-on-year to 263.7 million euros and EBITDA at 41.6 million euros (-5% year-on-year).
The EBITDA margin did improve, however, by 70 bps (i.e. 15.8%), thanks to the improved performance of the subsidiary in Concessions. The EBITDA margin of the construction sector remained at the 14% level. In the half-year, EBITDA amounted to 68.3 million euros (-3% year-on-year), with the relevant margin standing at 14.5%.
28% of the company’s turnover in the half-year came from the public sector, compared with just 16% in the corresponding period last year. In the same period, it received from the public sector advances of 127.7 million euros, corresponding to 40% of total customer advances.
AVAX II: A one-year postponement was granted to the arbitration hearing in London (London Court of International Arbitration), initiated by the Cyprus Avax-TERNA consortium against IRC Cyprus, for the construction project of the Casino Mediterranean City.
The hearing was due to begin next Monday, September 28, but was postponed to October 2027.
KRI KRI: Yesterday was the second day of correction for the dairy company from Serres after Monday’s record of 33.6 euros. Based on yesterday’s close at 31.25 euros, cumulative losses reach 7%. Of course, there still remains a rise of 57.35% since the beginning of the year.
After the close of the session, the company announced half-year results, which show a large increase in revenue as well as profitability.
At the same time, however, management disclosed that due to increased pressures on the cost of key raw materials, packaging materials, energy and transport, operating profits before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the full year are likely to come in slightly lower than the initial target of 60 million euros, in the region of 57-58 million euros.
KRI KRI II: The company’s “strong card” is dairy exports, which reached 129.4 million euros (+46.8%) and account for 63% of turnover. The gross margin, in fact, improved from 25.8% to 32.6%.
On the other hand, the reduction of the target for EBIT to 57-58 million euros is significant. This is because, given that the first half already showed 39.4 million euros, the second half is implied to come in at 18–19 million euros.
With second-half sales of about 196 million euros (target 400 million euros), this means an EBIT margin of 9–9.5%, that is, about half of the 19.3% of the first half.
METLEN: Fastmarkets revised upward the price of high-purity gallium, an indication that supply of the critical metal outside China remains limited.
The international price assessment organization raised the price for 4N gallium (99.99% purity) available in warehouses in Rotterdam (European benchmark) to $3,000-3,600 per kilo, from $2,900-3,300 previously. The average price of the range now stands at $3,300, up by about 6.5%.
Equally important is the widening of the spread between the low and high end, from $400 to $600. According to analysts, this indicates that market transactions are taking place at increasingly differentiated levels. Buyers who need material immediately appear to be paying a significantly higher price.
The above developments are of particular importance for Metlen. The same people recall that the listed company has already sold 12.5 tons of gallium at high prices, but is expected to make available an additional 37 tons. And with prices rising, so does the… bonus.
Note that on the board the stock moved upward yesterday, against the current, closing at 48.82 euros (+1.92%) with JP Morgan initiating coverage with a target of 64 euros, which in the optimistic scenario rises to 76 euros, about 55% higher than current levels.