Vienna - Austria's Erste Bank on Wednesday reported a 12.5 per cent increase in net profits to 636.6 million euros (993.1 million dollars) for the first half of 2008.

Strong performances of subsidiaries in Central and Eastern Europe as well as record operating income in the second quarter contributed to the growth, the retail bank said.

Operating income rose 17.2 per cent to 3.51 billion euros in the first six months of 2008, from 2.99 million euros last year.

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Vienna  - UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohammed ElBaradei wants the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to play more than an advisory role in verifying North Korea's nuclear programme, diplomats close to the agency said Friday.

In late June, Pyonyang handed over a declaration of its nuclear programme and materials to be verified by the six parties involved in the denuclearization of North Korea.

On July 12, the United States, Russia, China, South Korea and Japan agreed with North Korea to verification measures such as visits to facilities and interviews with North Korean specialists, with details still needing to be worked out.

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Vienna - Austrian company AT&S, the leading producer of printed circuit boards in Europe, said Thursday its first quarter net income dropped 46 per cent to 5 million euros (7.9 million dollars), down from 9.2 million euros in the same period last year.

Seasonal factors and a difficult market environment, combined with a weak US dollar and wage increases contributed to the results, the company said in its report.

Pre-tax profits were down 42 per cent to 5.3 million euros. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell to 5.6 million euros, 22 per cent less than 7.8 million euros in the first quarter of 2007.

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