At today’s shareholders’ meeting, with an attendance record of 95.04%, the shareholders unanimously accepted all the Management and Supervisory Boards’ proposals.

Among other items, they discussed the distribution of profit, the Management and Supervisory Boards’ discharge papers and appointed the auditor for 2004. 

The balance sheet profit for 2003 of SIT 970,649,376.95 shall be distributed as follows:

for dividends SIT 359,878,400.00, which means SIT 1,600 gross per dividend;
in accordance with the company’s statutory provisions, the financial reward for members of the Supervisory Board amounting to SIT 9,721,376.50 gross;
dividends and profit shall be paid out from the undistributed balance sheet profit from 1998;

balance sheet profit of SIT 500,000,000.00 is to be distributed among other profit reserves;

balance sheet profit of SIT 101,049,600.45 is to remain undistributed.

Those entitled to dividends are all shareholders registered in ‘KDD-centralno klirinško depotna družba’ on the day following the shareholders’ meeting. Dividends and rewards shall be paid out by 15 June 2004 at the latest.

The Management and Supervisory Boards were given discharge papers for 2003 and the audit company Constantio UHY Ltd was appointed for 2004.

BTC building the Atlantis Water City

The BTC company and its local and foreign partners plan to realise investments worth EUR 55 million in this jubilee year. The construction of the Atlantis Water City, the biggest centre of its kind in all of Europe, started in 2003, in total the investment is worth EUR 28 million and its opening is expected in the first quarter of 2005. In 2004 BTC and its business partners will offer the City’s visitors 77,000 m2 of new and 28,000 m2 of old, renovated business space. An important novelty is a four-storey car park with 768 parking places, 24 being reserved for the handicapped. It will allow better traffic movements around Water City and Millenium. At the moment, BTC CITY encompasses 475,000 m2, 365,321 m2 of which are covered by various office and shopping facilities.

Youthfulness at the age of 50

On 16 March 2004 BTC plc celebrated its 50th anniversary. On that day in 1954, on the initiative of Marijan Dermastja, Ph.D., the then Mayor of Ljubljana, a company named Centralna skladišča (central warehouses), a predecessor to the BTC we know today, was founded. In the half decade of its existence the company has taken a successful path, which is set to continue with its clear vision of the future. On this occasion the company is organising numerous events for its employees, retired colleagues, business partners and BTC visitors named ‘Youthfulness at the age of 50’ that will take place all year long. The central event was on 13 June and was visited by more than 70,000 people.

New positions

BTC plc witnessed 7.7% growth in employee numbers in 2003, mainly due to the new Spar distributive-logistical centre. In 2005 BTC will employ 40 people and 20 outsourced workers due to construction of the Atlantis Water City. Based on the 2003 data, the company employs 3,850 people, although more than 10,000 people work with BTC on a daily basis.

Logistical centre – 85% more profit

The company expanded its logistical services in 2003 in the new Spar logistical centre on Letališka street, which is reflected in both revenue growth and an 85% increase in profit from logistical activities. In the field of logistics, BTC offered its services to a cold-storage programme for the first time, with plans to expand the capacity of this programme.

January – May 2004: revenue grew by 7.78%. Profit expected to rise by 20%.

In the first five months of 2004 revenue increased by 7.78% compared to the same period last year and the company expects a 20% increase in its pre-tax profit.

For more information:
Marketing and Public Relations Department BTC plc
Šmartinska 152
SI – 1533 Ljubljana
Phone: 01 585 13 19
Fax: 01 585 13 76
e-mail: maja.oven@btc.si