Courtesy of Program Letních shakespearovských slavností 2010

PPF Group is respected not only for its financial achievements but also as a partner to high-quality cultural projects.
As a major player on the Czech economy, the Group understands its responsibility for social development in the Czech Republic.

One of the ways it expresses its relationship to society is its long-term support for various projects that create lasting value and benefit to society in general.

The cultural connection stems from PPF Group’s tradition, position and history, and its activities on the Czech market.
As a partner to Czech culture, PPF Group can more actively present the corporate values and its approach and attitude to Czech society through the projects it supports.

PPF Group’s aim is to be a long-term partner to exceptional cultural and charitable projects.

Petr Kellner, Founder and majority shareholder of PPF Group N.V. Courtesy of PPF

PPF Group is very active in charity and cultural events, encouraging major projects and thus contributing significantly to the development of cultural life in the Czech Republic.

The Group does not want to be a passive partner only, so it actively seeks projects to support and develop further.

Summer Shakespeare Festival (Letní shakespearovské slavnosti)

PPF Group has traditionally been the general partner to the Summer Shakespeare Festival. It is the oldest and largest open-air theater festival of its type in Europe.

The Festival takes place in Prague during the summer, in the magical environs of the Prague Castle’s Burgrave Palace and, more recently, the Liechtenstein Palace courtyard in Prague’s Lesser Quarter (Malá Strana) as well.

Over time, the festival has expanded to Brno, Ostrava, Bratislava, and Košice.

Courtesy of Shakespearovské slavnosti v Ostravě 2010

The unique idea of often untraditional takes on the timeless works of the globally renowned playwright William Shakespeare meets with great response from visitors.

The Festival was initiated by President Václav Havel.
He asked artists in the early 1990’s to attract as broad a general public as possible to the Prague Castle.
The Shakespeare Festival is one of the events that have found a permanent venue there since 1994.
Václav Havel granted his personal patronage to the Festival in 1999 and 2000.

Current President Václav Klaus also graced the event with his patronage in 2004.
Since 2005 the Festival has actively cooperated with Nadační fond manželů Livie a Václava Klausových.

www.shakespeare.cz  

Jára Cimrman Theatre in Žižkov (Žižkovské divadlo Járy Cimrmana)

“Czech Jára Cimrman was the world’s greatest writer, inventor, skier, and philosopher. There may be disputes about it, some may disagree with it, but that’s about all one can do against it.” (Zdeněk Svěrák in a letter to Ladislav Smoljak)

The mystifying poeticism of the Jára Cimrman Theatre is undisputedly unique in Czech theater.

The creation of Messrs Smoljak and Svěrák associated with the theater has won many devotees in 40 years and their number is still growing.

The venue is where the "Cimrmans" stage their proven pieces that have been in their repertoire for dozens of years, and it is also thanks to PPF Group’s support that Žižkovské Theater has hosted several premieres of this singular troupe’s new plays.

Jára Cimrman Theatre played its 10,000th performance in early June 2003.
So it is not by accident that PPF Group has supported this unique Czech theater project on a long-term basis.

www.zizkovskedivadlo-jc.cz  

Josef Sudek Studio (Ateliér Josefa Sudka)

PPF Group often comes up with its own proposals for enriching Czech culture.
This was the case with the restoration of Josef Sudek’s studio in Prague-Újezd in 2000.

PPF Group became the organizer of the restoration of the studio to its original form as well as the investor in the restoration and the subsequent operation.

Thanks to PPF Group, the decaying studio of the most famous Czech photographer, Josef Sudek, has turned into an important gallery, which plays an irreplaceable role in Prague’s cultural life.

The gallery presents photographic works of classic Czech artists as well as contemporary photographers, international artists and up and coming artists.

The most prominent among them include Josef Sudek, František Drtikol, Emila Medková, Jan Lukas, Ivan Pinkava, Jaroslav Rössler, and Gábina Fárová.

The care lavished on Josef Sudek Studio is firmly linked to the collecting activities of PPF Group.

The Group has been building a collection of art photography entitled “The Photographer in the Garden”, focused on Czech art photography of the 20th century and including the latest works of current photographers, on a long-term basis.

www.sudek-atelier.cz  

Česká pojišťovna Gallery (Galerie České pojišťovny)

PPF Group is the operator of Česká pojišťovna Gallery, which is intended primarily for exhibitions of painting and introduces both classic and contemporary works in touch with the current decorative arts development.

Gallery taps the extensive collections of paintings gathered by Česká pojišťovna in almost two centuries and extensive art photography collection of PPF Group.

In the summer, Gallery regularly presents works from the Česká pojišťovna collections, and during the year the works of the current middle-aged generation of Czech artists as part of the series subtitled “landscape, figure, and still life in Czech contemporary art”, which is meant to act as a contemporary counterpoint to Česká pojišťovna’s historical collection.

www.galeriecpoj.cz  

Louvre Gallery of Photography (Galerie Fotografie Louvre)

Louvre Gallery of Photography is situated in the centre of Prague, in a historical building at Národní třída 22.
The renowned Café Louvre was situated on its first floor between 1902 and 1948.

Visitors to the place, reputed among Prague intellectuals, included Franz Kafka, Max Brod, and Albert Einstein.

The art “office” was closed in 1948.
The café reopened in 1992 and Café Louvre quickly picked up where the famous tradition of the 1st half of the 20th century left off. In 2003, the mezzanine Louvre Gallery was added to the first floor café.

Gallery presented the works of modern Czech and French decorative arts.
The place has been given a new name in January 2008: Louvre Gallery of Photography.
It is a theme gallery, which focuses primarily on contemporary Czech photography.
In addition to exhibits, accompanying programmes such as lectures and presentations are also held there.

PPF Group regularly organizes exhibits of photographs from its collection at Louvre Gallery of Photography.

www.galerielouvre.cz  

The Václav Špála Art Gallery

The Václav Špála Art Gallery on Národní třída in Prague was reopened in September 2010. Thus, this show room, located at an excellent address and with an illustrious history, has resumed presenting the very best on the current visual arts scene.

Having won a bidding competition, PPF Group has become the operator of the art gallery for the next ten years; in its activity, PPF Group wants to follow up on the tradition of the art gallery, respect its historical focus, and develop it further.

Thanks to its location in the center of Prague and the size of its rooms, the Václav Špála Art Gallery is one of the best Czech galleries.

The high-quality program of exhibitions will mainly present well-established artists of the middle generation.

The gallery’s plan of exhibitions includes the following artists, for example: Tomáš Císařovský, Jiří David, Petr Pastrňák, Petr Nikl, František Skála, Kateřina Vincourová, Markéta Othová, Alena Kotzmannová, Tono Stano, Ivan Pinkava, Jaroslav Róna, and Jan Merta.

Once a year, the laureate of the Jindřich Chalupecký Award will display his/her works there.

The gallery also intends to work with other major Czech exhibition operators on joint projects, and it will also be open to the presentation of out-of-Prague exhibitions featuring remarkable quality.

Talks are also under way on the loan of a high-quality foreign display that would provide a contrast to the domestic scene.

www.galerievaclavaspaly.cz  

Source:
http://www.ppf.cz/en-html/index.php?sec=225  

PPF Group N.V. announces its consolidated financial results for the first half of 2010

The PPF Group has further significantly increased its value in the first 6 months of 2010: the profit attributable to Group shareholders was EUR 83 million.

Key data

• Compared to 31 December 2009, the equity of the PPF Group increased by EUR 333 million to almost EUR 4.3 billion

• Compared to the end of the year 2009, the assets of the PPF Group increased by more than EUR 1.0 billion to almost EUR 12 billion

• The profit attributable to the shareholders of the PPF Group as of 30 June 2010 was EUR 83 million

• The results disclosed in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) were audited by KPMG.

“We are satisfied with the results for the first half of this year. Progress has been made in geographical diversification of our assets in the countries of Central and Western Europe through the EPH. We have successfully restructured the Eldorado retail chain in Russia and many new assets. The profit may seem relatively low with respect to the Group’s growth, but it was technically affected in the middle of the year by recognition of hedging against exchange rate risks. Due to hedging, the movements in the exchange rates of local currencies cause profit to spill over into increases in capital. It is therefore essential in our case to note the marked growth of the Group’s capital. I expect the value of the Group for the entire year 2010 to increase by EUR 1 billion.”

12.11. 2010

Jiří Šmejc, shareholder of the PPF Group

Home Credit: PPF Group’s statement

"Home Credit Bank is one of the PPF Group's best performing investments and from its position of capital strength it is growing rapidly and is expected to post record profits for the current year - all of which confirms the success of its strategic move into retail banking.

While it is not surprising that Russian and international banks may be interested in investing in Home Credit Bank, as a matter of policy PPF Group does not comment on such rumours. PPF Group and its shareholders are highly satisfied with the performance of the entire Home Credit Group and therefore plan to continue fully to support its development plans.

PPF Group also underlines that Russia remains a priority market in its investment strategy. In addition to the Home Credit Group its investments include Nomos Bank, the Eldorado electronics and home appliances chain and Polymetal, and it is currently considering further opportunities that will extend its presence in the country."

13.11. 2010

Milan Tomanek, PPF Group Head of Communications

http://www.ppf.cz/en-html/index.php?sec=605&id=96&page=1  



About PPF Group


PPF Group is one of the largest international financial and investment groups in the Central and Eastern European region.

Assets managed by the Group reach almost EUR 11 billion (as of 31 December 2009).

PPF Group focuses on retail financial services (banking and insurance), private equity investments, and investments in real property.

PPF Group actively seeks investment opportunities on the developing markets in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States, and Far East.

The corporate ownership and control structure of PPF Group resides in the Netherlands: Headquartered in Amsterdam, PPF Group N.V. is the key holding company of PPF Group that adopts the strategic decisions.

PPF Group is a respected financial group building its business on values such as professionalism, stability, responsibility, flexibility, and credibility.
Its corporate culture is based on tradition, experience, and – most importantly – the high qualifications and loyalty of employees.

http://www.ppf.cz/en-html/index.php?sec=205  



Petr Kellner

Founder and majority shareholder of PPF Group N.V.

Petr Kellner Courtesy of PPF

Born in 1964; a graduate of the University of Economics, Prague, Faculty of Industrial Economics in 1986.
Kellner has founded PPF Group and became Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of PPF investiční společnost a.s. in 1991.

Since January 1998, he has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of PPF a.s. until March 2007. He has been Member of the Board of Directors of Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. since April 2007.
He owns a majority stake in PPF Group and manages its strategic development and planning.

Launched private equity fund with Italian insurance giant Generali, which purchased majority stake in his CZIH insurance company in 2008.
Partnering with Czech firm J&T in energy and buying up distressed real estate assets under newly formed alliance with ECM real estate group.
Stake in Polymetal up nearly 200% since last year.
Core banking assets in Russia and Czech Republic are growing and profitable; expanding in Vietnam and China.
Got his start selling office supplies, then borrowed $1 million against that business and started an investment fund; used it to buy a controlling stake in Czech insurer during its privatization.
Built media holdings that he later sold to American billionaire Ronald Lauder for $580 million net profit. Now looking again at media deals: bought publishing house Euronews in December 2009 and established hyperlocal Web sites and print-weeklies to support citizen journalism.

Net Worth: $7.6 billion
Residence: Vrane nad Vltavou
Marital Status: Married, 4 children

http://www.ppf.cz/en-html/index.php?sec=215  


Contact:

Milan Tománek
Head of PPF Group Communications
PPF a.s.
Evropská 2690/17
160 41 Praha 6
Česká republika

Tel.: (+420) 224 174 066
E-mail: tomanek@ppf.cz  



ASTROMAN magazine