Bulgaria's Key Chimimport Group Marks Marginal Up in Profits

The Bulgarian Chimimport Holding group has registered a 3% growth in net profits for the first half of 2010 notwithstanding greatly decreased revenue for the period.

Chimimport has registered a 20% drop in income due to shrinking in its non-financial activities, especially in transportation, which has shrunk 14%.

In the transportation sector, Chimimport holds Bulgaria Air, Hemus Air and Air Ban.

Revenue from interest and insurance on the other hand has grown, mostly from Armeec Insurance Company and the Central Cooperative Bank.

Costs of Chimimort have also dropped with almost 20%, contributing to the marginal increase in net profit.

In 2010 Chimimport payed for the first time dividend on its privileged shares issued in 2009.

Chimimport Public Holding Company is a major player in Bulgaria engaged in a multitude of business activities, including finance, acquisition and production and concentrated in finance and insurance, extraction of oil and gas and production and trading with petrolium products, processing and trading in grain and oils, chemicals and fertilizers trade, as well as air, river and maritime transportation.

Chimimport's eponymous predecessor was created as early as 1947 to facilitate Bulgaria's burgeoning chemical industry. It was transformed into a joint-stock company in 1990 and was registered as a holding company in 1997.

Chimimort is popularly known among Bulgarians as connected with the famous TIM group operating in northeast Bulgaria, especially second-biggest city Varna.