17 Oct 2008 07:00
October 17, 2008
Acron Announces IFRS Consolidated Results for H1 2008
JSC Acron (LSE, RTS and MICEX: AKRN) today announces its unaudited results for the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries (the "Group") for the six months ended June 30, 2008.
1H Highlights:
Financials:
The Group's revenue reached RUB 22,327 million, up 56 per cent year-on year (H1 2007: RUB 14,339 million);
EBITDA* rallied 190 per cent to reach RUB 10,234 million, against RUB 3,534 million in H1 2007;
EBITDA margin totaled 46 per cent, against 25 per cent in the same period last year;
The Group's net profit reached RUB 7,205 million - up 228 per cent year-on-year from RUB 2,195 million;
Earnings per ordinary share surged 230 per cent to reach RUB 152, against RUB 46 in H1 2007.
*EBITDA is calculated as operating profit plus depreciation and amortisation.
Note: Average exchange rate was US $ 1 to RUB 23.9184 in H1 2008 and US $ 1 to RUB 26.0714 in H1 2007
Supplies:
| Product | H1 2007 000 t | H1 2008 000 t | YOY (%) |
| Straight nitrogen fertilisers | 921 | 915 | -1% |
| Ammonia | 115 | 111 | -4% |
| Urea | 181 | 126 | -10% |
| Ammonium nitrate | 625 | 563 | -30% |
| Urea-ammonium nitrate | - | 115 | |
| Multi-nutrient fertilisers | 1,336 | 1,045 | -22% |
| NPK | 1,135 | 906 | -20% |
| NP | 29 | 8 | -71% |
| Bulk blends | 172 | 131 | -24% |
| Organic synthesis production | 181 | 184 | 2% |
| Methanol | 71 | 55 | -22% |
| Formalin | 16 | 12 | -20% |
| Urea-formaldehyde resins | 95 | 117 | 23% |
| Inorganic synthesis products | 463 | 444 | -4% |
| Low-density ammonium nitrate | 110 | 123 | 12% |
| Food-grade carbon dioxide | 28 | 26 | -8% |
| Calcium carbonate | 243 | 233 | -4% |
| Argon | 3 | 3 | 0% |
| Hydrochloric acid | 79 | 59 | -25% |
Key Developments
Acron subsidiary Verkhnekamsk Potash Company obtained an exploration license for the Talitsky lot of the Verkhnekamsk potassium-magnesium salts deposit.
Alexander Popov, chairman of Acron's Board of Directors, commenting on the Group's performance: "In the first six months of the year Acron demonstrated solid financial performance. However, we expect that the financial crisis sweeping the global markets will trigger lower global prices for mineral fertilizers. This may affect our financial indicators in the last quarter of 2008.
As regards results of operations, in the first six months of the year the phosphate market tightened and prices for phosphates rallied, which forced Group's Dorogobuzh and Hongri Acron to cut their NPK production. Sales of urea and AN also fell, primarily as their significant volumes were consumed in-house for the production of urea ammonium nitrate, a new mineral fertilizer in the Group's product portfolio".
For Further Information:
Acron
Elena Kochubey - Tel: +7 (495) 777 08 65
Head of Corporate Communications
Ilya Popov - Tel: + 7 (495) 411 55 94
Chief Expert
Information and Research Department
Notes to editors
Acron is a leading Russian and global mineral fertiliser producer with a diversified product portfolio consisting of multi-nutrient fertilisers such as NPK and bulk blends, and straight nitrogen-based products such as urea, ammonium nitrate and UAN. In 2007, the Acron group's total fertiliser sales volume was 4.4 million tonnes. The Company's key markets are Russia, China and other fast growing developing markets of South Asia, Latin America and former Soviet Union.
Acron employs over 12,000 people in Russia and China. In 2007 the Acron group's consolidated revenues under IFRS were RUB 31,105 million (US$ 1,267 million), and net income was RUB 5,668 million (US$ 231 million), and for the three months ended 31 March 2008 consolidated revenues under IFRS were RUB 11,661 million (US$ 496 million) and net income was RUB 3,963 million (US$ 169 million). Acron's ordinary shares are listed and traded on the MICEX, RTS and LSE stock exchanges under the symbol "AKRN".
Acron has three production facilities - Acron (Veliky Novgorod, Russia), Dorogobuzh (Smolensk Region, Russia) and Hongri Acron (Shandong Province, China). Acron's logistics and transportation capabilities include its own fleet of railway cars and three sea port trans-shipment facilities on the Baltic Sea - at the Kaliningrad port of Russia, at the Estonian Sillamäe port and at the Estonian Tallinn port. The Company operates distribution networks in Russia and China.
Acron plans to enhance its vertical integration and secure supplies of phosphate and potash inputs through the development of its own mineral resource base. The Company owns licences to develop two apatite-nepheline ore deposits in the Murmansk region and a potassium-magnesium salts deposit in the Perm region (both located in Russia).
Complete H1 IFRS financial statement for JSC "Acron" is available at www.acron.ru/investor_annual.html