CHIMIMPORT WITH STEADY ANNUAL PERFORMANCE

MFG Invest (MFG) announced a webinar on 17.03.2025 at 15:00 EET (GMT+2) where the 2024 results will be discussed, as well as 2 of their investments – Tiger Technology (software managing data in hybrid environment) and Hydrogenera (developing technologies to produce, store and use hydrogen). It can be attended on https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/s-81dB7IRjuer3fMlgx7sQ

Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) announced 2024 consolidated results, where revenues increased 7.8% to BGN 19.1mln. Their financial income, however, made a significant jump of over 67% to BGN 14.3mln. The reason for that is the positive effect from purchase buyback agreements, which jumped from BGN 3.5mln to BGN 11mln. As a result, the Net Income increased 39.3% to BGN 17.4mln.

Chimimport AD (CHIM) announced 2024 cons results, where revenues from non-financial activities increased 24% in 2024 to BGN 500.6mln. Their banking business increased 17.9% with revenues of BGN 254mln. As a result PBT increased 36.8% to BGN 139.6mln. However, after taxes and reevaluations of financial assets (likely restructuring the portfolio of their banking business), Net Profit increased 27.8% to BGN 135.4mln.

Doverie Holding (DUH) announced 2024 cons results. Banking operations have clearly hit a plateau in 2024 and the growth of 4% to BGN 226.5mln was driven by the income from fees and commissions (10.4% increase to BGN 51.7mln) and FX differences in bank operations (28% increase to BGN 34.3mln). Other business lines added 14% to BGN 90.5mln revenues. Net Profit increased 11.4% to BGN 102.7mln.

ü  Retail sales rose by 8.1% YoY in Jan, slowing from an upwardly revised nine-month high of 9% in December. This marks the softest rise in three months, as sales growth for food, beverages, and tobacco sharply slowed to 3.9%, down from 9.3% in December. Meanwhile, trade rebounded broadly for automotive fuel in specialized stores (15.5% vs. -5.6%), and sales of non-food products grew faster (11% vs. 8.8%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade grew by 0.1%, easing from a revised 0.4% gain in December.

ü  The economy grew by 3.4% YoY in Q4, accelerating from an upwardly revised 2.8% expansion in the previous quarter. It was the fastest pace of expansion since the third quarter of 2022, primarily driven by a sharp rise in household consumption, which surged 5.3% compared to 4.1% in Q3. In contrast, government spending grew at a slower pace of 1.8% (vs. 5.0% in Q3), while fixed investment contracted by 1.5%, marking the third consecutive quarter of decline. Net trade also weighed on GDP, as exports fell by 1.4% while imports increased by 2.2%. On a quarterly basis, Bulgaria’s GDP expanded by 0.9%, outpacing the 0.8% growth recorded in the previous quarter.