LSRG.L Regulatory News (LSRG)

20 Mar 2008 13:08

Open Joint-Stock Company LSR Group20 March 2008 NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN For immediate release 20 March 2008 St. Petersburg LSR Group fully repays its first bond loan LSR Group ("LSR" or the "Group") one of the leading real estate developers andbuilding materials producers in St Petersburg and the Leningrad region (LSE:LSRG, MICEX, RTS: LSRG), announced today that has fully repaid its first ofthree bond loans. The first issue of bonds worth 1 billion roubles was placed in March 2005,managed by FC Uralsib and VTB North-West. The interest rate was originallyestablished at 14% and subsequently dropped to 10% two years later. The yieldpaid on all of the six coupons of the bonds issued has totaled 302,354,465.98roubles. LSR Group also placed a second 2 billion roubles loan in December 2006 with oneof the lowest rates for the bond market of Russian construction companies at thetime of placement - 10.7%. Currently, LSR Group has paid a total of 213.4million roubles as the yield on the first two coupons of Series 01 bonds. In July 2007, LSR Group placed a third bond loan for the amount of 3 billionroubles setting a record-beating low rate for the construction and propertydevelopment sector (8.35% in roubles), compared to 9% for constructioncompanies. On January 17, 2008 LSR Group paid the yield on the first coupon ofSeries 02 bonds in the amount of 124.92 million roubles. Both above-mentioned loans have been placed by OOO LSR-Invest, a 100% subsidiaryof LSR Group founded specifically to raise funds for LSR Group companies. NOTES TO EDITORS: OJSC LSR Group is a diversified construction company founded in 1993 andoperating in a number of complementary market segments. Its core business areasare building materials, construction and real estate development. The Groupincludes enterprises for extraction and processing of aggregates, productionand transportation of building materials, and housing construction - from massmarket large-panel housing to elite property built after designs made by leadingdomestic and foreign architects. LSR Group has operations and offices in a number of cities in the LeningradOblast, in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia,Ukraine and Germany. LSR Group employs over 15,000 people. In 2005 and 2006 therevenues of LSR Group (according to IFRS statements) were RUB 13,085.5 millionand RUB 21,110.8 million respectively. For the six months of 2007, the Group'srevenues amounted to RUB 16,062.0 million compared to RUB 9,336.4 million forthe same period last year. In July 2007, Moody's Investors Service assigned a B1rating to LSR Group; outlook - stable. In November 2007, OJSC LSR Groupimplemented an IPO. In December 2007, LSR Group was bestowed a National Award inthe field of business as 'The Company of the Year' in the 'Construction'category. For more details please contact: Press Service, LSR Group +7 (812) 314-1044 press@lsrgroup.ru www.lsrgroup.ru Legal disclaimer: NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES,AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN Some of the information in these materials may contain projections or otherforward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financialperformance of the Company. You can identify forward looking statements by termssuch as "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "will","could," "may" or "might" the negative of such terms or other similarexpressions. The Company wishes to caution you that these statements are onlypredictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. TheCompany does not intend to update these statements to reflect events andcircumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence ofunanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differmaterially from those contained in projections or forward-looking statements ofthe Company, including, among others, general economic conditions, thecompetitive environment, risks associated with operating in Russia, rapidtechnological and market change in the industries the Company operates in, aswell as many other risks specifically related to the Company and its operations. Neither these materials nor any copy of it may be taken or transmitted into theUnited States, Australia, Canada or Japan. These materials do not constitute orform part of any offer or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offerto purchase nor shall it (or any part of it) or the fact of its distribution,form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefor.The offer and the distribution of these materials and other information inconnection with the listing and offer in certain jurisdictions may be restrictedby law and persons into whose possession any document or other informationreferred to herein comes should inform themselves about and observe any suchrestriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute aviolation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. These materials are not an offer for sale of any securities in the UnitedStates. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absentregistration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of1933. The Company has not registered and does not intend to register anyportion of any offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering ofany securities in the United States. This communication is directed only at (i) persons who are outside the UnitedKingdom or (ii) persons who have professional experience in matters relating toinvestments falling within Article 19(1) of the Financial Services and MarketsAct 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") and (iii) high net worthentities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, fallingwithin Article 49(2) of the Order (all such persons together being referred toas "relevant persons"). Any investment activity to which this communicationrelates will only be available to and will only be engaged with, relevantpersons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on thisdocument or any of its contents. This communication is distributed in any member state of the European EconomicArea which applies Directive 2000/71/EC (this Directive together with anyimplementing measures in any member state, the "Prospectus Directive") only tothose persons who are investment professionals for the purposes of theProspectus Directive in such member state, and such other persons as thisdocument may be addressed on legal grounds, and no person that is not a relevantperson may act or rely on this document or any of its contents. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange