Profits of international companies in Albania fall

TIRANA, Feb 24 – Effects of the global crisis are affecting Albania, this time with fallen profits of international companies also operating in the country.
Greek cement maker Titan said earlier this week that its net profit fell 13 percent to 208 million Euros last year on a sharply lower demand for building materials in the United States and Greece.
The housing crisis in the United States, which accounts for about one third of Titan’s total sales, and a double-digit percentage drop in Greek building activity last year are hurting sales.
Titan said it planned to cut costs and reduce debt to brace for a further decline in U.S. and Greek cement demand this year.
Titan said a new unit in Albania and a second production line at its Egyptian plant will further strengthen sales as of 2010.
Another Greek company, this time a bank, Alpha Bank, Greece’s third largest lender, said 2008 group profit fell 33.5 percent to 512 million Euros.
The group, which operates in Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Serbia, said net interest income grew 12 percent last year to 1.8 billion Euros. Net interest margin was resilient at 3.0 percent versus 3.1 percent in 2007.
It said its exposure to emerging European economies was limited, with the Balkans making up only 13 percent of its loan book — 6.7 billion Euros lent in the region of which only 824 million was in consumer credit.
The bank said that so far it had experienced “only marginal asset issues”.