ZChP safe from currency hedging risk for now

05 December 2008 14:52  [Source: ICIS news]

PRAGUE (ICIS news)--Poland's Zaklady Chemiczne Police (ZChP) does not anticipate taking a heavy hit from the currency hedging bets that have gone sour amid the economic crisis, the second largest Polish nitrogen fertilizer firm said on Friday.

ZChP, also a producer of titanium dioxide (TiO2), made the comments after Polish Economy Minister Waldemar Pawlak said Polish companies possibly faced losing tens of billions of euros on foreign exchange contracts following the steep fall in the value of the national currency.

Pawlak called the situation “a threat to the national economy”.

“We have been thrown into one basket with, for instance, Ciech,” said ZChP spokesman Rafal Kuzmiczonek.

"Depending on the future exchange rate, we may be exposed to a loss in the fourth quarter concerning our portfolio [contracts] set for 2011, at the end of 2008 we will present a positive cashflow on forex contracts already settled."

In early November, largest Polish chemical company Ciech sunk to a third-quarter net loss of Zl28.5m ($9.4m, €7.4m) from a Zl31m net profit in the same period of the previous year, largely on unsuccessful currency derivative trading.

($1 = Zl3.03/€1 = Zl3.87)

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By: Will Conroy
+44 20 8652 3214

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