$In an environment of cleansed banks and deleveraged companies, we expect to achieve stable macroeconomic conditions and economic recovery already in 2014,$ the ministry said in the statement.

It added that the consolidation of public finances would continue in line with set goals, while efforts to shore up the banking system would be based on independent due diligence and the results of stress tests conducted recently by Banka Slovenije.

The effects of bank stabilisation measures on public debt will be of a temporary nature and debt will be brought down again with effective management of bank assets and privatisation, the statement adds.

The Finance Ministry issued the statement after Fitch said the ratings cut was based on the fact that Slovenia's macroeconomic outlook has $deteriorated significantly$ since its last rating review of August 2012.

The ratings agency forecast a 2% GDP contraction for 2012 and a 0.3% decline in 2014. It also projected that the general government deficit would surge to 72% of GDP due to the macroeconomic environment and bank recapitalization costs.

Crucially, Fitch believes that non-performing loans have yet to peak, given the prolonged economic contraction.

The cash-strapped airline finished last year with a loss of EUR 10.8m, most of which it generated in the first quarter, when demand for flights is at its lowest. It therefore expects to break even by the end of this year.

The results were debated at a session of the supervisory board on Thursday, which also examined restructuring efforts at the company.

Meanwhile, the supervisors did not discuss the call to applications for a new board member which was concluded on 30 April.

The appointment of a new board member will complete the management board and pave the way to the naming of a full-time chairman.

Interim chairman Mark Anžur told the STA that he was happy with operations in the first three months of the year. The goal of breaking even by the end of the year is in reach.

Saying that Bled has fulfilled all the expectations of The Travel Network Group for hosting such an event, the association's director Gary Lewis voiced an expectation that the location would enchant the participants of the event.

Slovenia's investment and tourism promotion agency, SPIRIT, welcomed the visit as an excellent opportunity for the British tourist industry to get to know Bled and Slovenia and also as a chance for the Slovenian tourism industry to showcase its offering.

While growth in the number of visitors from Britain has stagnated in recent years due to a drop in the number of low-cost flights, Britain still represents the seventh-biggest tourist market for Slovenia.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization stood at EUR 30m, down from EUR 33.4m in the first quarter of 2012, Petrol said.

The group which operates 315 petrol stations in Slovenia and another 150 in countries of the former Yugoslavia sold 641,100 tonnes of petroleum products in the first quarter, which is 7% more than last year.

Natural gas sales meanwhile rose by 8% to 55.8m m3, while liquefied petroleum gas sales were down 2% to 16,500 tonnes.

Also down were merchandise sales at Petrol's pumps, which dropped by 9% to EUR 117.4m. Meanwhile, electricity sales surged 116% to 1.1 terawatt hours (tWh).

Despite the good news, the Statistics Office said the increase was likely of a seasonal nature, as a similar trend was recorded in the spring and summer of 2012, only for unemployment to spike in the autumn.

The March jobless rate was therefore still 1.4% higher than in the same month a year ago, while the number of people in active employment was down 25,000.

A more detailed breakdown shows that only the unemployment among men dropped, from 13.5% to 13.2%, whereas the rate among women remained unchanged on the month before at 13.7%.

The unemployment rate dropped in all age categories except for the 35-39 years group, where it remained flat.

Moreover, 11 of 12 statistical regions reported a drop in unemployment, with only the Notranjsko-Kraška in south-western Slovenia reporting an increase of 0.2 percentage points to 12.6%.

Sales outside Slovenia, which accounted for 93% of the group's total sales, grew by EUR 22.7m or by 9%.

The group sold EUR 242.8m worth of prescription pharmaceuticals, a 5% increase compared to the first quarter last year. Prescription pharmaceuticals represent over 82% of Krka Group sales, the company said.

Krka chief executive Jože Colarič told a press conference today that he was satisfied with the results considering the market situation.

The company's leading sales region is east Europe, where Krka generated 34% of its total sales. Russia, the company's largest individual market, saw sales grow 30% to EUR 70.3m. Krka achieved notable success also in Poland, where sales increased by 19% to EUR 30.5m.

In the first quarter, Krka allocated EUR 30m for investment, most of which will go for increasing and modernising production capacity and research and development infrastructure.

In Slovenia, major investments include the construction of Novo mesto-based production plant Notol 2, which is expected to be complete in 2015, and the Krško-based Sinteza 1 plant, where works are scheduled to begin next year. The Krško investment will cost EUR 85m in the first phase, Colarič said.

Some smaller investments were also made into the central complex in Novo mesto and Terme Krka spa. In Russia the company plans to initiate test production at the EUR 135m Krka Rus 2 plant, Colarič said.

The group's Q1 operating profit stood at EUR 58.4m, up 7% over the same period last year. Profit before tax amounted to EUR 60.7m and was up 1%.

Krka Group employed 9,654 people at the end of March, a 2% increase compared to the beginning of the year. The number of employees in subsidiaries and branches abroad has exceeded the number of employees in Slovenia for the first time in Krka's history, the company added.

Commenting on government plans to increase the VAT rate, Colarič said Krka's operation would be unaffected as most of the pharma company's revenues come from abroad.

Hato stressed the importance of Slovenian participation in the preparation of a basis for a study being conducted by the Hitachi Research Institute. The study is in its final phase and its results will be the basis for Hitachi's decision on whether it will participate in a joint Japanese-Slovenian demo project in the field of smart communities.

Hitachi representatives were in Slovenia in March, assessing Slovenian companies as competent and announcing a high probability of technological cooperation in smart transport and green mobility. Slovenian government officials in turn expressed support to the Japanese side and assurance for cooperation.

SPIRIT, which coordinated the visit of the Japanese delegation, said that Slovenia and Japan wanted to set up long-term cooperation and that smart technologies and projects related to them were a priority in Slovenia.

Apart from a meeting with Economy Minister Stepišnik, Hato also held talks with Infrastructure and Spatial Planning Minister Samo Omerzel, presidential foreign policy adviser Marko Makovec, state secretary in the PM's office Gašpar Gašpar Mišič and acting SPIRIT head Boštjan Skalar.

His comments come after Mercator reported a EUR 8.6m loss for the first fiscal quarter on sales that fell 2.6% year-on-year to EUR 658.4m.

The company must improve pre-tax profit (EBITDA) to $about EUR 80m by 2015 or 2016$. $Since demand has been declining, costs are an area on which we need to work harder in the future,$ he said.

Asked about the success of cost-cutting so far, Balažič said costs were trimmed by EUR 5m in the first quarter, with the end-year target being EUR 20m. $We've got costs under control, but we have to be more aggressive$.

Apart from cost-cutting, Mercator will focus on its core business and key markets, and it plans to grow, though Balažič said that is being hampered by uncertainty over the sale.

$Mercator could have been a bigger player in consolidation in the region, but it cannot be since there is major uncertainty over ownership among potential partners,$ he said.

Balažič was tight-lipped when asked whether he thinks the 53% stake in the company will be sold in what is now the ninth attempt by banks and beverage group Pivovarna Laško to divest.

$We want stable ownership, but we also realize this is a very challenging time...For the company it is vital that a decision is made fast, as the process is weighing down on Mercator and hampering its performance.$

If the shareholders decide not to sell, Balažič expects that they will give the company more time to restructure. $Mercator needs time for restructuring that is measured in years,$ he said, adding that this would also allow the sellers to maximise the price.

Unofficial information indicates that Croatia's Agrokor and the private equity fund Mid Europa Partners submitted bids for the majority stake, but Balažič would not venture to assess which one might be better.

$I don't know the details well enough. Both have their weaknesses and benefits. I believe comments are premature at this point.$

$This will be something very valuable in the future,$ he stressed, adding that the materials used in the house can easily be reused or recycled.

The house includes an own solar plant, solar collectors for hot water, skylights, rainwater gathering for sanitary purposes and watering as well as smart installations. The latter are designed to be easier to use than mobile phones, Lukić said.

$I stand right in front of the answer to the questions often asked in the time of crisis, and that is how will we get out of it,$ Pahor declared at the opening event.

$We will get out of the crisis thanks to people with a business vision, those who can think through the perspective of tomorrow and are capable of making products or service that can compete at home as well as abroad,$ the president said.

Lukić stressed the house was entirely a product of Slovenian know-how. $We believe that knowledge can give us a relatively secure future. This is especially true for companies coming from a sector that is as demanding as construction,$ he stressed.

He added it was time to get rid of the thinking of yesterday when it seemed that being crafty is all you needed for success. Today, time has come for those who believe in knowledge, he said, adding that the state should also learn this lesson.

Due to the deal Bisol will shift to maximum output and 24/7 production.

It expects even more demand in the second half of the year, when the EU will slap punitive tariffs on Chinese photovoltaic modules.

$This measure will restore fair competition on the market and additionally boost demand for European products,$ Bisol said.

Gross pay, at EUR 1,502.08, dropped 1% over the year before even as it was 1.5% higher than in February.

The highest monthly increases in gross wages were recorded in electricity supply (9.4%), agriculture (8.7%) and IT (6.3%).

In the sector of public administration, defence and social security, meanwhile, gross pay was down 0.5%.

$This is a good example of how our regional investments can help citizens travel more easily and more safely,$ the release cited Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn, who approved the project.

The investment will improve the quality and competitiveness of cargo, increase the traffic speed and bring more travel security on the line that is part of the trans-European transport (TEN-T) network and is one of the priority TEN-T railway corridors between the EU and other European countries.

T-2 controls more than 50% of the fibre-optic access market and has more than 33,000 subscribers to T4 packages combining internet, television, mobile and fixed-line telephony, according to a press release from the company.

Branko Roglić of Croatian distributing group Orbico identified a number of possibilities too, for instance in tourism, where mixed companies could be established at Slovenian skiing destinations on the one side and on the Croatian coast on the other.

However, Roglić expects the EU entry to bring more foreign competition as well, which will hurt companies with low value added. At the same time foreign capital and ideas can mean more growth, he noted.

Ivana Gažić of the Zagreb stock exchange pointed out that Croatia was facing similar problems as Slovenia and singled out a wall of red tape that is scaring away potential investors.

She added that there had been no real privatisation since the sale of the national telco in Croatia, arguing that a fresh wave of privatisation could provide a new momentum for the market.

The vice-governor of Croatia's central bank Vedran Šošić noted that the Croatian financial sector had preserved a certain level of flexibility, which was reducing risk. Thus loans to the private sector in the country have increased by 15% since the start of the crisis, while Slovenia has dropped to pre-crisis levels in this respect.

This means that Slovenian businesses posted an overall net profit, which however contracted to merely a third of the net profit generated in 2011.

The contraction is largely owing to the companies that were registered before 1991. The loss-making companies employed more than a fourth of all workers.

The bulk of the loss was posted by companies in finance and insurance industry, followed by real estate, hospitality sector and construction.

Profit making companies were mainly those in manufacturing, energy, gas and steam supply, transport and storage.

The figures reflect a contraction of the economic activity, write-offs and write-downs of assets at home, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) says, noting that only exports improve results.

AJPES's data are based on annual reports from 59,726 companies submitted by the end of March.

Slovenian companies generated EUR 78.8bn in overall revenue last year, 2% more than the year before. Revenue on the domestic market rose by 0.3%, those generated in the EU by 7% and outside the EU by 10%.

But even after four years of growth, company revenues are still more than 7% below the pre-crisis levels, according to GZS. Revenue generated on the domestic market is as much as 12.7% below 2008 levels.

Last year saw the number of employees increase by 0.1% to 435,059, while the value added per employee fell by 1% to 38,006 euros. Average pay per employee increased by 0.5% nominally to EUR 1,436 gross.

Although profitability of banks has increased, their revenues continue to slide, shows data from Banka Slovenije, which puts gross revenues for the quarter at EUR 286.8m, down 15.9% over the same period last year.

Net interest revenue stood at EUR 193.7m, which is 21.1% less than in the first quarter of 2012, while non-interest revenues fell by 2.6% to EUR 93.1m.

Meanwhile, banks in Slovenia also reduced operating costs at an annual level, which fell by 4.6% to EUR 174.9m.

Meanwhile, the central bank's report points to continued weakness in crediting, with the value of all loans at the end of the quarter standing at EUR 35.48bn, down 8.3% on the same period last year.

Loans to businesses fell by 11.6%, while loans to households were down 2.8% over the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the total assets of banks in Slovenia grew by 0.1% in March over the month before to stand at EUR 46.11bn. This is 8% less than in March 2012.

Gross payouts stood at EUR 153.7m, which is 4% more than in the first quarter of 2012. Meanwhile, operating costs in the same period were down by 2% to EUR 52.4m.

In a statement posted on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, Triglav said that the group was continuing to realise its strategy of focusing on its core insurance operations and increasing profitability.

The group blamed the drop in collected premiums on the recession, saying that bankruptcies and a reduction in purchasing power of households was continuing to take a toll on demand for insurance products.

She said Slovenia needed $engines$ that will propel it forward and secure jobs, exports and educate the young and talented. Start-up companies can be these very engines, which is why the government will definitely invest in them in the future, the PM added.

Koofr was set up in February, but it started developing its main product last year, a mobile interface for access to different types of data storage systems.

The head of the 13-strong jury that selected the winner, Miroslav Rebernik, pointed out that the number of companies entering the competition was increasing each year, with the number rising to 102 this year.

The winner was picked as part of the 33rd Podim conference in Maribor, which began today and will feature 40 guests from Slovenia and abroad and attract around 500 visitors.

Rebernik, who is the head of the event's programming committee as well, said this year's event was focusing on young talents. The topic was also chosen on the basis of a recent study ranking Slovenia 59th among 67 participating countries in terms of the number of new companies in 2012.

$The ranks of entrepreneurs are not being replenished sufficiently with young businessmen. Like elsewhere in Europe, entrepreneurs are becoming older, while we have the worst flow of entrepreneurs younger than 34 among all the groups of countries we compared Slovenia to,$ he explained.

Net interest in the first quarter of 2013 were down 11.2% year-on-year to EUR 12.4m. The bank said the decline was due to low interest rates and high costs of deposits in the banking system.

Deposits grew 1.9% to EUR 1.25bn in the first quarter, which compares to 29.3% growth in the same period last year.

The bank cut operating costs by 5.2% to EUR 10m, while the profit before taxes stood at EUR 1.1m in the first quarter, the bank said.

Total assets at the end of March amounted to EUR 2.83bn, up 0.4% compared to the end of 2012. The amount of loans meanwhile dipped by 1.4% to EUR 2.24bn.

The bank capital adequacy ratio increased to 14.7% from 13.5% at the end of 2012.

Bosch is facing major economic obstacles but plans to overcome them with the introduction of $new technological solutions and innovative products in Slovenia,$ he said.

Touching on the government's plan to raise the value added tax, Gonzales Pareja said no measure that affected demand was good. However, Bosch will not be affected much as it makes the bulk of its sales abroad.

Bosch's biggest Slovenian investment is BSH hišni aparati, the Nazarje-based company that is part of BSH Household Appliance, a joint venture between Bosch and Siemens.