ROMANIA COMELF H1 PROFIT RISE BELOW TARGET .
BUCHAREST 1996-08-30
Romanian listed state engineer Comelf said it almost doubled six-month output , with net profit rising by 33 percent to 1.069 billion lei .
But the company complained inflation and the artificially high rate of the leu cut profit margins on exports , keeping profits well below its forecast of 1.4 billion lei .
Comelf 's six-month output rose to 4,378 tonnes of equipment from 2,684 tonnes in the equivalent period in 1995 , the company report to the Bucharest stock exchange showed .
Comelf , based in the central Transylvanian town of Bistrita , manufactures water purification equipment , machinery for the thermal power sector and other equipment .
" In the first six months of 1996 we concentrated on increasing the volume of our output and exports in particular and improving the quality of our products , " the report said .
From January to June Comelf exported 59 percent of its output , up from 37.3 percent in the same period last year .
The company said higher than anticipated inflation and rising raw materials and wage costs also hit profits .
Year-on-year inflation , initially estimated at 20 percent in December , was 33.8 percent in June , higher than a revised end-year forecast of 30 percent .
The 12 month figure quickened to 40.3 percent in July .
The leu currency has slipped only gradually this year , and is currently quoted at an official rate of 3,162 to the dollar , well below the 3,550 retail price that exporters say is more realistic .
-- Luli Popescu , Bucharest Newsroom 40-1 3120264