ETLN.L Regulatory News (ETLN)

14 July 2014

Etalon Group AGM Approves First Dividend

Etalon Group Limited (the "Company"), one of Russia's largest and longest established residential real estate developers, held its Annual General Meeting (the "AGM") on Friday, 11 July 2014 at The Old Government House Hotel, St Ann's Place, St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands. Among the items voted on at the AGM, shareholders approved a final dividend of USD 0.075 per share for the year ended 31 December 2013.

All resolutions were proposed as ordinary resolutions and each of the following resolutions was passed by the requisite majority on a poll:

1. To receive the Annual Report & Accounts

2. To approve the Final Dividend for the year ended 31 December 2013

3. To appoint the Auditor

4. To authorise the Directors to set the remuneration of the Auditor

5. To re-elect Martin Robert Cocker as a Director of the Company

6. To re-elect AntonEvgenyvich Poryadin as a Director of the Company

7. To elect Kirill Mikhailovich Bagachenko as a Director of the Company

With AGM approval, the dividend is now due to be paid on 30 July 2014 based on the shareholder register as of the record date of 13 June 2014.

Commenting on the results of the AGM, Etalon Group President Viacheslav Zarenkov said: "This marks another step forward in Etalon Group's development since our IPO in April 2011. We have delivered steady, sustainable growth in our construction programme and land bank value by investing the funds we raised from investors. At the same time, we have maintained a conservative financial policy, which means we are well positioned to make further acquisitions, while also starting to give cash back to investors in the form of dividends."

Other recent announcements are available on the Etalon Group website: http://www.etalongroup.com/investors/news/ 

Etalon Group IR Team

T: +44 20 8123 1328 

E: info@etalongroup.com 

EM

Sam VanDerlip

T: +44 7554 993 032

T: +7 916 306 6112

vanderlip@em-comms.com 

About Etalon Group

History and Overview

Founded in 1987 by Viacheslav Zarenkov, Etalon Group has become one of Russia's largest residential real estate developers. With a more than 25-year history, the Company has one of the longest and most successful track records in the Russian real estate industry.

Today Etalon Group is a leading player in Russia's "Golden Triangle" - St Petersburg, Moscow and the greater Moscow area, with a dominant position in the "comfort class" segment. The Company's strong foothold in these markets is reinforced further by its unique nationwide sales network covering 9 of the 10 wealthiest regions of Russia, and spanning 30 cities in total. The sales network generates up to 30% of Etalon Group's revenue, and has been an important source of stable demand even throughout the crisis.

Etalon Group is one of the only truly vertically integrated businesses in the Russian real estate sector. The Company does everything from acquiring land to sales and cash collections from its customers, which enables it to maximise margins throughout the value chain, and reduces exposure to cost inflation from external service providers. Etalon Group is a company of scale, with a total of 40 business units that employ over 4,000 people, two strong construction management companies, five general contractors, 16 subcontractors, a crane company, a brick factory and a nationwide sales network.

Etalon Group's strong financial position is driven by its effective pre-sales business model. The Company aims to pre-sell 70-90% of all residential space before a building is delivered. It also targets an average down payment of 50%. This allows Etalon Group to finance the construction process using money from customers, as opposed to using the loans or funding from shareholders.

In addition to homebuilding, Etalon Group's long history and superior quality offering has helped it to become a trusted industrial construction partner for clients like General Motors, Toyota, Ford Motors, Bosch, Siemens, Nissan, Suzuki and Gazprom in northwest Russia.

Since 20 April 2011, Etalon Group Limited has had its GDRs traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

Operational and Financial Highlights

As of 31 December 2013, Etalon Group's portfolio comprised 28 projects, with a total of 3.44 million sqm of unsold net sellable area ("NSA") in the St. Petersburg and Moscow Metropolitan Areas. Jones Lang LaSalle valued this portfolio at USD 2,727 million, a 15% increase in the market value from YE 2012.

For the year ended 31 December 2013, Etalon Group's new contract sales totalled 356,075 sqm, or RUB 30,227 million. Deliveries in 2013 totalled 468 thousand sqm.

The Company recorded revenues of RUB 39.9 billion and EBITDA of RUB 9.4 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 24% for the year ended 31 December 2013, making it one of the most profitable players in the sector.

Etalon Group's net debt position at 31 December 2013 was RUB 182 million, leaving it well positioned to fund continued dynamic growth.