Romanian cable and mobile communications company RCS&RDS will launch a new service allowing its users to call unlimited, for free, via voice-over-IP, to any destination, if the receiver has the same software installed, irrespective of their actual mobile telephony service carrier. The company is thus trying to convince mobile telephony users to use its new system instead of the regular services provided by their mobile carrier. The new service will be called Digi Oriunde (Everywhere) and will be available via software for Android, iOS and Windows Mobile for mobile phones with Internet access. [...]

One in four Romanians prefer to shop online with foreign companies , says Dan Bulucea, Google Romania country manager. “Does anyone know what percentage of shopping online e-commerce in Romania comes from the outside? About 80 percent of purchases are from abroad: Amazon, eBay and others”, said Bulucea at the RoNewMedia event. The head of Google Romania believes that entrepreneurs should study foreign competitors’ strategies on their markets and better serve the needs of Romanian consumers, so they can focus on developing their companies in Romania, thus ensuring they get the [...]

Rompetrol Rafinare, part of the Rompetrol group, reported a turnover of USD 1.1 billion in the first quarter of this year, a 2 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2011. The company ended the first quarter on loss, with a net loss of USD 62.7 million, 5.5 times higher than in the first quarter of 2011. In the first three months of 2011, Rompetrol Rafinare posted a loss of USD 11.3 million. Rompetrol Rafinare includes Rompetrol Rafinare SA, Rompetrol Petrochemicals, Rom Oil, Rompetrol Downstream, Rompetrol Logistics and Rompetrol Gas. Financial indicators were influenced by the volatility [...]

UPC Romania, supplier of television, internet and telephony services part of Liberty Global, posted revenues of USD 35.7 million in the first quarter of this year, which represents a 6.4 percent decline compared to the similar period last year. At the end of Q1, 2012, ended at March 31, the operator had 1.14 million clients, up 3,500 on Q1, 2011. The base of revenue generating units (RGUs) of the company has reached on March 31, 2012, a total of 1,637,400, having added 5,700 new ones compared to the previous quarter. The company continued to lose clients on the analog cable segment where its [...]

The Henri Coanda International airport in Bucharest (Otopeni) handled 4.917 million passengers in 2010, up 9.7 percent y-o-y, making it the 58th busiest airport in the European Union out of 138 airports, according to a Eurostat report. In 2010, London/Heathrow remained the EU’s busiest passenger airport, with 66 million passengers handled, down by 0.2 percent compared with 2009. Paris/Charles de Gaulle (58 mn, +0.5 percent) and Frankfurt/Main (53 mn, +4.1 percent) were the second and third busiest airports, followed by Madrid/Barajas (50 mn, +3.9 percent) and Amsterdam/Schiphol (45 mn, +3.7 [...]

Translectrica, Romania’s national electricity carrier posted a turnover of EUR 203 million and a profit of EUR 10 million in the first quarter of this year. While its turnover was 18 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2011, the profit was 3.7 times lower than during the same period last year. The company’s expenses went up by 37 percent during the first three months of the year, to some EUR 193.6 million.   Romania raised some EUR 37.7 million with the secondary listing of Transelectrica’s shares on the Bucharest Stock Exchange earlier this year.  Investors [...]

Gabriel Resources, the private investor behind the Rosia Montana gold mining project in Romania, wants to reduce costs until the Romanian Government advances with the licensing process for the project, said the Canadian Company. Gabriel Resources posted a loss of USD 2.6 million in the first quarter of 2012, twice as much as in the first quarter of 2011. Its latest financial report shows that the company is currently analyzing expenses in all areas, to substantially reduce monthly costs until the Government starts the licensing process for the project. Gabriel Resources’ message [...]

The Romanian subsidiary of Portuguese Millennium bcp reduced its net loss by 88 percent y/y to a negative EUR 3.4 million in the first quarter of 2012, supported by a decrease of impairment charges, and the lender is focusing on a clear cost containment policy. Banking income dropped by 19.4 percent y/y to EUR 5.2 million in Q1, while banking costs fell by 18 percent to EUR 9 million. The gross volume of loans to customers was up by 19.2 percent to EUR 409 million at end-March 2012, while deposits gained 0.9 percent to EUR 295 million. The slow growth in deposits was impacted by the lender’s [...]