Petrol's H1 net profit halved to EUR 21 million, revenue down nearly a third
LJUBLJANA - Petrol, Slovenia's largest energy group, saw its net profit halved to EUR 20.6 million in the first six months of the year, as sales plunged by 28%, to EUR 1.53 billion, due to the lockdown and subsequent coronavirus-related restrictions. Profit before income tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) plunged by 22% to EUR 64.3 million, the company said in an earnings release.
Despite pandemic, BSF boasts high-profile guests, weighty debates
BLED - The 15th Bled Strategic Forum will be held on Monday against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic and the strict precautionary measures this entails. Nevertheless, a host of senior officials will be in attendance and the organisers expect substantive debates on some of the most pressing issues the world faces. PM Janez Janša will host Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov, Croatia's Andrej Plenković, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić for the leaders panel.
Logar joins calls for Turkey to end unilateral actions
BERLIN, Germany - EU foreign ministers, including Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar, urged Turkey at an informal meeting in Berlin to end unilateral actions in the eastern Mediterranean, which are fuelling tensions in the country's relations with Greece and Cyprus, and hence with the EU, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release. The ministers called for safeguarding the EU's interests and expressed solidarity with Cyprus and Greece.
Corruption watchdog launches investigation into Pivec
LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK) has launched an investigation after preliminary findings indicated the risk of corruption in alleged wrongdoing of Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec, commission president Robert Šumi told the press. The investigation has been expanded to include more persons and several events, as well as several instances of suspected wrongdoing.
New Covid-19 cases reach 42 in 1,338 tests on Thursday
LJUBLJANA - 42 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Slovenia on Thursday when a total of 1,338 tests were performed, the government said as it released the most recent data on Friday. This brought the total number of cases to 2,797, with 428 being active infections, according to the national tracker Covid-19.sledilnik.
All primary school children advised to wear masks in shared premises
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's health authorities have recommended that all primary school children wear face masks in corridors and shared areas as the new school year starts next week. The relevant minister has suggested that the government will respect any new recommendations the National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) may give.
Men found lockdown easy, women no so much
LJUBLJANA - A third of Slovenians perceived the coronavirus lockdown to be tough, a survey conducted by the pollster Mediana has shown. But nearly 30% of respondents, most of them men, said the situation was simple or that it improved their everyday lives. While significantly more men then women said that lockdown was easy, significantly fewer women agreed with this view.
Boring works on Karavanke Tunnel finally launched
JESENICE - After months of delays, first because of complaints in the contracting procedure and then due to the coronavirus pandemic, workers have finally started boring the second tube of the Karavanke Tunnel on the Slovenian side. Turkish contractor Cengiz currently has 43 workers on site, a figure that is set to increase to 150 when boring is ramped up to a 24/7 cycle, according to Valentin Hajdinjak, the chairman of motorway company DARS.
Contractors picked for first section of Third Axis expressway
LJUBLJANA - The project of linking Koroško in the north and Bela Krajina in the south with the motorway network, known as the Third Development Axis, got a fresh impetus, motorway company DARS picked a consortium of three contractors to carry out the initial works on the northern part of the planned expressway. Companies Kolektor, CGP and VOC Celje have been picked to do the works at the expressway junction Gaberke for EUR 8.47 million without VAT, DARS announced. If nobody challenges the selection procedure, the works at Gaberke could start in mid-October.
Merger of publishers Dnevnik and Večer halted
LJUBLJANA - The merger of Dnevnik and Večer, the publishers of the third and fourth largest daily newspapers in Slovenia, has come to a halt, Dnevnik's owner Bojan Petan of publisher DZS and Večer's co-owner Uroš Hakl have confirmed. Petan implied at Dnevnik's general assembly on Thursday that there were disagreements over ownership, whereas Hakl told the STA today that the reasons for putting the merger on hold were a matter of business.
Battery maker TAB recovers after coronavirus snag in spring
MEŽICA - After a drop in production in the spring resulting from the coronavirus lockdown, the Slovenian maker of starter batteries for cars and industrial batteries TAB has improved its standing, generating EUR 109 million in revenue and EUR 9 million in profit in the first half of the year. But it is because of the state aid that the shareholders of the company based in Mežica in northern Slovenia will not get dividends this year after several fruitful years in this respect.
Pandemic drags Unior into the red
ZREČE - Toolmaker Unior saw its half-year results drop significantly due to the coronavirus crisis, the group said. With a 35% drop in revenue, which was at EUR 59.1 million, the group reported a net loss of EUR 2.7 million, according to unaudited results. The core company's loss was even higher, at EUR 5.3 million. The net outcome was more than EUR 12 million worse than last year, when the group posted a net profit of EUR 9.4 million in the first six month.
Slovenian charged with sex trafficking arrested in Canada
LJUBLJANA - The Canadian police have tracked down and apprehended a Slovenian citizen wanted by the Slovenian police for participating in a criminal organisation linked with sex trafficking. The relevant court has confirmed for the web news portal 24.ur that the suspect is businessman Sergej Racman. The Slovenian police were notified of the arrest by the Canadian colleagues on Wednesday, the General Police Administration said.
Festival celebrating Gottschee culture kicks off
SEMIČ - The Days of Gottschee Culture, a series of events celebrating the culture of an ever-smaller German-speaking community in south Slovenia and striving to preserve its heritage, will get under way tonight. The 6th edition of the festival will run until Sunday as a joint project of three municipalities, Semič, Dolenjske Toplice and Kočevje, under the auspices of President Borut Pahor.