News roundup - Wednesday, 30 October

Annual inflation stays roughly level in October

LJUBLJANA - Consumer prices remained unchanged on average in October on an annual basis, after the annual inflation rate stood at 6.9% last October. A deflation of 0.5% was meanwhile recorded on a monthly basis, mainly due to cheaper electricity and holiday packages, the Statistics Office reported. In October, services were on average 3.2% more expensive than in the same month last year, while the prices of goods dropped by 1.6%.

Slovenia expresses solidarity with flood-hit Spain

LJUBLJANA - President Nataša Pirc Musar and Prime Minister Robert Golob expressed solidarity with Spain after the country had been hit by devastating floods the previous evening, which killed dozens of people while many are still missing. Conveying condolences to the families of victims, Slovenian government expressed readiness to help.

Baker Don Don to be incorporated into Bimbo group

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian baking group Don Don which is present across large parts of the Balkans will become a part of the Mexican Bimbo group, the largest baker in the world. Announcing the move, Don Don said that it would lead Bimbo's development and sales programme in central and southern Europe, where Bimbo has not been present so far. Don Don has subsidiaries in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. It is also exporting goods to Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece and Slovakia. The group employs over 2,400 people.

SIJ increases revenue but records nine-month loss

LJUBLJANA - The steel group SIJ recorded EUR 834.5 million in revenue in the first nine months of the year, marking a 6.2% increase compared to the same period last year, but operated at a loss due to challenging industry conditions. SIJ has announced measures, including a shift to reduced working hours and a delay or halt in certain investments.