MITSOTAKIS: Since last Friday the column revealed the backstage story of the… near-rebellion in ND’s parliamentary group regarding the candidacies of elected local government officials and the intervention of the Maximos Mansion to avoid the worst.
At yesterday’s event for the presentation of the new digital platform – aid for the organization and briefing of the parliamentary group at the Bodossaki Mansion, Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirmed the information, making it known that a one-month deadline is being given for those local government officials who want to be parliamentary candidates to resign from their positions.
“I want to be completely clear, so that there is no doubt whatsoever, no question mark whatsoever: if there are officials of the second tier of Local Government who want to run in the next elections, they will have submitted their resignation within the next month, so as to ensure that they will indeed be able, potentially, to compete with colleagues on equal terms,” the prime minister stressed.
MITSOTAKIS II: The prime minister also announced, in parallel, one more session of the blue parliamentary group, in the second half of July, before Parliament closes for the summer holidays.
The ballot boxes are approaching and this is not a time for laxity, is the logic of the Maximos Mansion.
However, some ministerial officials who are said to be more concerned with their re-election than with their current duties should hear this as well.
It is what they say, they have put their pencils down…
GUILFOYLE: The prime minister hosted a dinner at the Maximos Mansion last night in honor of the American ambassador, on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
The dinner, according to government sources, had a symbolic character and was an opportunity for an informal exchange of views on the enduring relations between Greece and the United States.
Among those participating were ministers Giorgos Gerapetritis, Nikos Dendias and Stavros Papastavrou, as well as members of the American embassy and the business community connected with the US.
LAZARIDIS: The MP for Kavala -and for a few days deputy minister of Rural Development- from the floor of Parliament, submitted to the record specific evidence showing that in the much-discussed issue of his degree and his appointment, he himself committed no illegal act. On the contrary, as he argued, an administrative mistake from twenty years ago was christened a “political scandal.”
In ND they acknowledge that Lazaridis’ resignation does not constitute an admission of guilt. On the contrary, as they say, with this specific intervention, he made it clear that he assumed political responsibility in order to protect the government, without any deliberate involvement on his part being proven.
“Political responsibility is one thing and admission of illegality is another,” was being commented even yesterday in a “huddle” at the gathering of the blue parliamentary group at the Bodossaki Mansion.
CARREFOUR: The chain’s return to Greece continues to cost. Retail & More closed 2025 with turnover of 9.59 million euros, down 12% compared with 2024, while net losses came to 2.4 million euros.
Equity turned negative (-749 thousand euros), while short-term liabilities exceed current assets by about 6.2 million euros, a fact that led the statutory auditor to point out material uncertainty regarding the continuation of operations.
Management is responding with a change of strategy. Disinvestment from company-owned stores, sale of 9 outlets for 4.5 million euros and aggressive growth through franchise.
In 2026, however, it will not be judged by how many new stores open.
NIKOS VARDINOYANNIS: A new business move in the sports sector is being made by Nikos Vardinoyannis son of Vardis, who founded Tennis Gardens Single-Member PC based in Marousi with initial capital of 25,000 euros.
The new company’s main object is the operation of sports facilities, such as tennis, football and basketball courts, while it will also be active in the retail trade of sports equipment and in sports education services.
The company’s sole partner is Nikos Vardinoyannis, who paid in the entire share capital, while management and representation are undertaken by Angeliki Kairi.
VNK: Activity is being recorded in the broader pharmaceutical sector by VNK Capital. Sources with knowledge tell the column that Vasilis Katsos and Periklis Vasilopoulos are preparing a new round of placements.
The first acquisition is “locked in,” however the relevant announcements are being shifted to the next period, as they will be included in a broader investment plan.
It will cover production, distribution and pharmaceutical activities overall.
VNK II: The investment vehicle of the Katsos family continues to focus on two strategic pillars. Defense and the pharmaceutical industry, sectors in which management sees significant growth prospects.
A characteristic example is Altus, which is growing rapidly, according to knowledgeable sources. Two years ago it employed about 18 workers, today it has reached 70 and by the end of the year, their number may approach 100.
As regards Palirria, information says that developments are expected during the summer, as it is a company with strong fundamentals and multiple strategic options. How the next phase of the agreement will proceed will become apparent in the coming weeks.
BEA: A bill for the licensing of unlicensed professions has been submitted by the Athens Chamber of Crafts (BEA) in cooperation with the country’s other two Industrial Chambers and GSEVEE, as revealed by BEA president, Konstantinos Damigos, during a meeting he had with journalists.
Mr. Damigos argued that this measure could function as a counterweight to the lack of staff availability that exists in the technical professions, as young people may view more seriously a profession that is licensed. In fact, as he said, at this moment in Europe there are 120 licensed professions, while in Greece only five.
Mr. Damigos made it clear that their goal is not to “close” the professions, but to shield them.
On the other hand, the president of BEA described the high wages in the season as a “myth,” referring to the poor working conditions of employees. As he said, in many cases they work uninsured, while they face exhausting hours and extremely poor living conditions.
By contrast, he argued that in the technical sector one would hardly find anyone uninsured, while the maximum working day is eight hours.
Mr. Damigos stressed that the benefits of choosing a technical profession should be communicated to young people, because as he said if someone chooses to become a plumber or electrician, from the beginning to the end of his career, easily or with difficulty, he will always have work.
DRAGNIS: Greek shipowner Yiannis Dragnis is proceeding with an investment move of about $166 million, strengthening his presence both in container transport and in dry bulk vessels. Goldenport Shipmanagement signed agreements with two Chinese shipyards for a total of five newbuild vessels.
Specifically, the company ordered three feeder containerships with carrying capacity of 1,800 teu at the CMHI Qingshan shipyard, at an estimated cost of about $32 million per vessel and deliveries from the second half of 2027 to early 2028. This is the first order for newbuild containerships in Goldenport’s history, which until now had strengthened its fleet through purchases of second-hand vessels.
At the same time, Goldenport assigned to Nantong Xiangyu the construction of two ultramax bulk carriers of 64,000 dwt, at about $35 million each, with deliveries in mid-2029.
The Dragnis family also maintains a presence in the tanker and gas transport sectors through Oceangold, which in April ordered two newbuild VLGCs.
COSCO: China’s Cosco Shipping is proceeding with a new investment of more than $1.27 billion, ordering 24 cargo ships at four Chinese shipyards.
The program includes 20 bulkers for grain transport with capacity of 87,000 dwt and four 210,000 dwt newcastlemaxes, which will be ready to use ammonia and methanol as fuels in the future.
The vessels are part of Cosco’s fleet renewal and expansion program and have already secured 20-year charters from a group subsidiary. According to Clarksons, Cosco has the largest fleet worldwide, with 1,230 vessels and another 274 under construction.
SHIPPING: Reading the prospectus of Seanergy, of Stamatis Tsantanis, the column identified an element that vividly describes the constant upheavals that shipping is called upon to face.
We read: “The Baltic Exchange Dry Index-BDI (i.e. benchmark for monitoring the development of the dry bulk freight market) fell from the all-time historical high of 11,793 points in May 2008 to the all-time historical low of 290 points in February 2016, representing a decline of approximately 98%.
In the following years volatility was also evident, although less extreme. In 2025, the BDI showed fluctuations, ranging from the low of 715 points on January 30, 2025 to the high of 2,845 points on December 3, 2025. From 1.1.2026, the BDI recorded a low at 1,532 points on January 15 and a high at 3,034 points on May 7.”
And do not think that the waters are more… calm in ship prices. “From 2010 to today, resale prices of newbuild Capesize 182,000 DWT vessels have ranged between US$35.0 million in March 2016 and US$81.5 million in May 2026.”
That is why the sector needs good “captains”…
SEANERGY: The shipping company is launching next week an issue of a five-year corporate bond of 100 million euros.
From the funds it will raise (net 95.6 million euros), 76 million euros will finance purchases and shipbuildings of vessels and about 19.6 million euros will be used to cover working capital needs up to 24 months from the issue.
The public offer starts on Monday.
SHIPPING: Greek shipowners continue to invest dynamically in modern kamsarmax-type vessels (i.e. medium-sized dry bulk vessels), taking advantage of the significant improvement in the dry bulk market and the rise in freight rates.
The protagonist of recent days in this new trend is Castor Maritime of Petros Panagiotidis, which completed two purchases of vessels built in 2023 and 2024, while shipbroking sources report that Rostrum Stoic (2023) is also heading toward Greek interests for $37-38 million. At the same time, clients of Aquavita International recently acquired Seacon Antwerp (2024) for about $42.9 million.
At the same time, major Greek groups, such as Star Bulk of Petros Pappas and the -now listed on the ATHEX- Safe Bulkers of Polys Haji-Ioannou, are proceeding with the sale of older kamsarmaxes, renewing their fleets with younger vessels.
The activity is attributed to the strong rise in freight rates, which is linked to increased demand for thermal coal transport. Disruptions in energy flows from the Middle East have led countries such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to turn more to coal, boosting demand for kamsarmaxes and pushing daily freight rates above $20,000.
TERNA ENERGY: With consolidated sales from continuing operations of 289.67 million euros (a decline of 16.5% year-on-year), TERNA Energy, arm of Abu Dhabi Future Energy in S.E. Europe, closed fiscal year 2025, due to reduced wind power levels and curtailments carried out by network operators in the context of balancing transmitted loads.
EBITDA fell by 10.8% to 187.5 million euros, while adjusted EBITDA (i.e. excluding the expense of the free share distribution program) amounted to 195.2 million euros, down 8.1%.
Net profit for the year from continuing operations and excluding minority rights came to 63.7 million euros (a decline of 9.6% year-on-year), while on a comparable basis (i.e. excluding the expense for free shares) it amounted to 68 million euros.
TERNA ENERGY II: During last year, the group carried out investments worth 150.2 million euros, with net debt declining to 780.1 million euros (2024: 795.6 million euros).
The group has under construction photovoltaic parks of 376.4MW as well as 40MW battery storage systems, which are expected to be completed by the end of this year.
At the same time, construction of the Amfilochia pumped-storage project is progressing. Priority, due to the ongoing curtailments in RES generation units, has been given to battery storage units.
Last July, the TENERG group acquired Energy Balance IKE in order to obtain licenses for 80MW in battery energy storage systems. The consideration was estimated using a discount rate of 5.8% at the fair value of 2.53 million euros and is expected to be paid in full during the first half of 2027.
PUMPED STORAGE: The agreement for the sale of TERNA Energy to Masdar provided for a put option of the latter for the sale of 50% of Pumped Storage I (Amfilochia).
Masdar exercised its right within 9 months and GEK TERNA will buy the 50% for a price of about 75 million euros. It will spend another approximately 75 million euros, according to what management told analysts, which constitutes its share as 50% holder in the investment program.
The project will enter full operation after 2027.
PROFILE: The stock is just one… cent away from the year’s high close, which had been recorded in early February.
Yesterday’s close was at 8.08 euros (+4.94%), with transactions rising sharply to 2.67 million euros, almost 336,000 pieces, also due to a block trade of 200,000 pieces worth 1.6 million euros.
The block trade, our sources say, went to an institutional investor, without the involvement of the main shareholders.
In any case, the trading volume was impressive, for the stock’s standards, as we had not seen a similar one since May 2025, that is, more than one year.
We remind you that the column had dealt with the stock on June 12, noting that it is a “Fintech and AI” stock at… 2025 prices.
Today we have to add some very interesting information from the market. According to this, Profile has exceeded its management’s expectations in the first half of the year, among other things also in matters of cash flows and available liquidity.
Something that seems likely to allow it to soon reward its shareholders with a… surprise, without disrupting its investment plan.