A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Fitch gives 'A' rating to AIB's Polish concern
Fitch, the ratings agency, has affirmed its "A" issuer default rating on AIB's 70.5 per cent-owned Polish bank, Bank Zachodni WBK (BZWBK).
The rating reflects the bank's ability to meet its financial commitments "on a timely basis".
Chris Birney, director at Fitch, said BZWBK was "performing well, with improving asset quality, good profitability and strong capitalisation".
Fitch also noted that the bank's asset management and brokerage businesses were boosting earnings and improving revenue diversification. It said BZWBK had relaxed some of its credit-granting procedures as it had grown more "confident in its risk management systems".
"Additionally, an increasing portion of the loan portfolio consists of mortgage and other retail loans, which have a short history in Poland and have not been tested through a full economic cycle," the agency said yesterday.
Exploration group gets Dunquin data
Irish exploration group Providence Resources said it has completed the acquisition of more than 1,500km of seismic data on the Dunquin Prospect off the west coast of Ireland, which will allow it to better determine the site's future.
Providence signed a farm-out agreement in February with ExxonMobil on the Dunquin Prospect, an area it believes has the potential to produce enough oil and gas to power the whole of western Europe.
It said it will process the data before integrating it with its existing information for interpretation.
Ryanair director buys airline shares
Kyran McLaughlin, a non-executive director at Ryanair, has spent €184,250 on the purchase of shares in the airline. Mr McLaughlin, who is also deputy chairman at Davy, bought the shares yesterday at €7.37.
Ryanair closed at €7.24, down 20 cent on the day.
NCB raises NTR valuation by 16%
NCB Stockbrokers yesterday raised its valuation of National Toll Roads (NTR) to €5.33 per share, representing a 16 per cent increase on its May valuation.
NTR's tolling business is now valued at €460 million, up from €445 million, reflecting traffic increases.
The estimated value of its 51 per cent stake in Airtricity has been raised from €268 million to €306 million.
NTR's subsidiary Greenstar recently obtained approval to develop a landfill site in Kildare, which boosted NCB's valuation of the waste management firm by almost 18 per cent to €250 million.
New Chambers Ireland appointment
Chambers Ireland announced yesterday that it has appointed Rachel MacGowan as head of international affairs.
Ms McGowan will be responsible for developing the profile of the organisation internationally.
She will be involved in seeking international funding, forming partnerships and rolling out Chambers Ireland products and services worldwide.
ACCA launches sustainability prize
Accountancy body ACCA Ireland has launched its 2006 Sustainability Reporting Awards, which are open to all Irish private and public sector companies and organisations.
The aim is to encourage environmental, social and sustainability reporting among organisations, and to raise awareness of transparency and accountability issues.
The winners will be announced in December.
