GLPR.L Regulatory News (GLPR)

For immediate release 06 March 2020

Global Ports Investments PLC

2019 Full-Year Results

Global Ports Investments PLC ("Global Ports" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries and joint ventures, the "Group" or the "Global Ports Group"; LSE ticker: GLPR) today announces its operational results and publishes its consolidated financial statements for the twelve-month period ended 31 December 2019.

Certain financial information that is derived from the management accounts is marked in this announcement with an asterisk {*}. Information (including non-IFRS financial measures) requiring additional explanation or terms which begin with capital letters and the explanations or definitions thereto are provided at the end of this announcement. 

For the full version of the 2019 Full-Year Results announcement please click here:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2580F_2-2020-3-6.pdf

For the 2019 Full-Year Results presentation please click here:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2580F_3-2020-3-6.pdf

For the Management report and consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019 please click here:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2580F_5-2020-3-6.pdf

For the Management  report and parent company financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019 please click here:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2580F_4-2020-3-6.pdf

For the Management report and Global Ports (Finance) PLC financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019 please click here:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2580F_1-2020-3-6.pdf

FY 2019 RESULTS SUMMARY

● Improved Revenue up 5.3% to USD 361.9 million (+4.0% like-for-like[1]) delivering Adjusted EBITDA of USD 226.9 million* (+4.4% y-o-y) and Adjusted EBITDA margin of 62.7%*

● Return to Profit for the year of USD 67.7 million (compared to a loss of USD 58.3 million in 2018)

● Enhanced Free Cash Flow generation up 18.9% to USD 158.8 million*

● Operational outperformance of the market continues with 2019 Consolidated marine container throughput up 6.5% to 1,439 thousand TEU against 4.5% growth in the Russian container market over the same period

● Consolidated bulk throughput of 3.7 million tonnes (+17.1% y-o-y)

● Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA decreased slightly to 3.3x* (-0.3x compared to 31 December 2018) due to FX and IFRS 16 reporting adjustments.

● All rating agencies that rate the Group and its financial instruments have upgraded credit ratings over the course of 2019 by one notch: Fitch Ratings to BB+, Moody's - to Ba2, RA Expert to RuA+

Vladimir Bychkov, CEO of Global Ports Management, commented:

"In 2019 Global Ports strengthened its leadership position in the growing Russian container market delivering market outperformance for the second year in a row, notably in the Baltic Basin where our consolidated container throughput grew 12% against 5.1% growth of the Russian market.

This success was driven by our ongoing efforts to deliver leadership - not only in size - but also in the quality of our services across every aspect of our activity: from berth productivity for shipping lines to the efficiency of railway and customs operations at our terminals and to advanced and innovative IT solutions. Our journey to become a more efficient logistics hub with a wide range of value-added services is an ongoing process and there is still much to be done, especially in the Far East. We believe that our dedication and commitment alongside our clear approach will achieve the required results.

Financially we performed very well over the year, achieving 4.4% Adjusted EBITDA growth and an 18.9% increase in Free Cash Flow"

Group financial and operational highlights for the twelve months ended 31 December 2019

Unless otherwise stated, all comparisons below are for the twelve-month period corresponding to 2019 with comparisons to 2018.

Operational Highlights

● The Russian container market grew 4.5% in 2019 driven by the 6.0% growth of full container export and supported by 3.9% growth in full container import, resulting in total Russian container market throughput of 5.1 million TEU.

● Outperforming the market, the Group's Consolidated Marine Container Throughput increased 6.5% to 1,439 thousand TEU.

● Consolidated Marine Bulk Throughput increased by 17.1% to 3.7 million tonnes driven by the growth in bulk cargoes at ULCT, which was partially offset by a decline in scrap metal at PLP following the introduction of state export quotas in the third quarter of 2019.

Financial Highlights

● Consolidated revenue increased by 5.3% to USD 361.9 million; excluding the impact of LT and VSC transportation services[2], like-for-like revenue grew by 4.0% driven by an increase in both container and non-container revenue.

● Like-for-like Revenue per TEU decreased by 4.0% to USD 178.4*.

● Gross profit increased 1.2% to USD 210.1 million.

● Adjusted EBITDA increased by 4.4% to USD 226.9 million* mainly due to the growth in throughput and strict cost control.

● Profit before income tax for the twelve-month period was USD 96.6 million compared to a Loss before income tax of USD 53.6 million in 2018. This was mainly driven by the depreciation of the Russian rouble in 2018, which resulted in a loss on revaluation of US dollar-denominated borrowings (from Group and non-Group entities) due to the Group's Russian subsidiaries having the Russian rouble as their functional currency.

● The Group's capital expenditure in 2019 was USD 26.6 million. It was focused on planned maintenance projects, scheduled upgrades of existing container handling equipment and customer service improvement initiatives.

● The Group generated USD 158.8 million* of Free Cash Flow, an increase of 18.9% compared to 2018.

● The Group reduced Net Debt by USD 33.3 million* over the twelve-month period despite IFRS16 impact of USD 24.9 million*[3] and FX impact of USD 28.9 million*. If to adjust for this IFRS 16 effect, Net Debt decreased by USD 58.2 million* to USD 722.1 million*. The Group continues to prioritise deleveraging over dividend distribution.

● Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA decreased from 3.6x* in 2018 to 3.3x* in 2019. Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA adjusted for IFRS 16 was 3.2x* as of 31 December 2019

● The company's outlook for 2020 may be impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in China, which has lowered visibility on what to expect in 2020. The Management is closely monitoring the situation with the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and is ready to act depending on the development of the situation.

Further information is available in the following Appendices:

● Appendix 1: Results of operations for Global Ports for the twelve-month period ended 31 December 2019;

● Appendix 2: Reconciliation of Additional data (non-IFRS) to the Consolidated Financial Statements;

● Appendix 3: Definitions and Presentation of Information;

● Appendix 4: Investor Presentation.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2580F_3-2020-3-6.pdf

Market data

Market data used in this press-release, as well as certain statistics, including statistics in respect of market growth, volumes of third parties and market share, have been extracted from official and industry sources and other third-party sources, such as the Association of Sea Commercial Ports ("ASOP") the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (the "CBR") and the Russian Federal State Statistics Service ("Rosstat"), among others.

Other

Pursuant to Article 2.1(i) (ii) of the Transparency Directive (2004/109/EC) and Rule 6.4.2 of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority, the Company confirms that it has chosen the United Kingdom as its Home State.

Downloads

The consolidated financial statements for the twelve-month period ended 31 December 2019 for Global Ports are available for viewing and downloading at http://www.globalports.com/globalports/investors/reporting-transactions/annual-interim-results.

Analyst and Investor Conference call

The publication of these results will be accompanied by an analyst and investor conference call hosted by:

· Vladimir Bychkov, Chief Executive Officer, Global Ports Management LLC;

· Alexander Roslavtsev, Chief Financial Officer, Global Ports Management LLC;

· Brian Bitsch, Chief Commercial Officer, Global Ports Management LLC;

· Alexander Iodchin, General Manager of Global Ports Investments PLC.

Date: Friday, 06 March 2020

Time: 10.00 UK / 13.00 Moscow

To participate in the conference call, please dial one of the following numbers and ask to be put through to the "Global Ports" call:

Standard International Access: +44 20 3003 2666

UK Toll Free: 0808 109 0700

USA Toll Free: +1 866 966 5335

Russia Toll Free: 8 10 8002 4902044

ENQUIRIES

NOTES TO EDITORS

Global Ports Investments PLC

Global Ports Investments PLC is the leading operator of container terminals in the Russian market by capacity and container throughput[4].

Global Ports' terminals are located in the Baltic and Far East Basins, key regions for foreign trade cargo flows. Global Ports operates five container terminals in Russia (Petrolesport, First Container Terminal, Ust-Luga Container Terminal[5] and Moby Dik[6] in the Russian Baltics, and Vostochnaya Stevedoring Company in the Russian Far East) and two container terminals in Finland[7] (Multi-Link Terminals in Helsinki and Kotka). Global Ports also owns inland container terminal Yanino Logistics Park[8] located in the vicinity of St. Petersburg.

Global Ports' revenue for 2019 was USD 361.9 million and Adjusted EBITDA was USD 226.9 million*. Consolidated Marine Container Throughput was 1,439 thousand TEU in 2019.

Global Ports' major shareholders are Delo Group, one of the largest private transportation and logistics holding companies in Russia (30.75%), and APM Terminals B.V. (30.75%), whose core expertise is the design, construction, management and operation of ports, terminals and inland services. APM Terminals operate a global terminal network of 78 operating port facilities, giving the company a global presence in 58 countries. 20.5% of Global Ports shares are traded in the form of global depositary receipts listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE ticker: GLPR).

For more information please see: www.globalports.com

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

Some of the information in these materials may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Global Ports. You can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "will", "could," "may" or "might" or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Any forward-looking statement is based on information available to Global Ports as of the date of the statement and, other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations, Global Ports does not intend or undertake to update or revise these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and Global Ports wishes to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied by these statements. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in projections or forward-looking statements of Global Ports, including, among others, general political and economic conditions, the competitive environment, risks associated with operating in Russia and market change in the industries Global Ports operates in, as well as many other risks related to Global Ports and its operations. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Global Ports are qualified by this caution.