22 Nov 2007 09:43
PIK Group22 November 2007 THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS RESTRICTED AND NOT FOR PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PIK GROUP ("The Company") PIK Group acquires major new site in Perm to develop a residential urban neighborhood (LONDON, 22 November 2007) - PIK Group (LSE: PIK), one of Russia's leadingresidential real estate developers, today announced the acquisition of a largeland plot in city of Perm. The site, which covers 124 hectares, has been acquired for development as anurban area with an estimated 1.1 million square meters of net sellable space.The development will be the first phase on a large site totaling 500 hectareswhich the local authorities in Perm have planned to sanction for real estatedevelopment. PIK will also provide additional infrastructure, such as schools, kindergartenand roads, in co-operation with the local authorities. The development isestimated to house approximately 40,000 people when completed. The project will transform the residential property market in Perm, offering avital new source of housing for the city's residents as an alternative to thesignificant proportion of Soviet era buildings in the city which have becomeobsolete. Perm is the capital city of the Ural province, also called Perm. Situated 800miles east of Moscow on the River Kama, it is a major river port and anadministrative, industrial, scientific and cultural centre for the region. It isthe 6th largest city in Russia and has a population of over 1 million. PIK has already been operating in the area for over more than one year. Thisyear it has already won a tender for developing 6.4 hectares (equivalent toestimated net sellable area of 109,000 square meters). In total, PIK owns anestimated area for development in the city of around 169,000 square meters. Commenting on today's announcement, Kirill Pisarev, CEO of PIK said: "We are working closely with government authorities in Perm to increaseconstruction volumes in the city in line with the federal "Affordable Housing"programme. This sizable acquisition enables us to build another major urbanneighbourhood in Russia." - ENDS - Enquiries: PIK Group Tel: +7 (495) 291-67-54Viktor Szalkay szalkayv@pik.ru Investor Relations Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: +44 20 7638 9571Tom BaldockLindsay Noton NOTES TO EDITORS PIK Group Overview Founded in 1994, PIK is one of the leading vertically integrated residentialdevelopers in Russia with over 14,000 employees across the country. Its businessactivities are concentrated in Moscow and the Moscow region with an increasingfootprint in many of Russia's other regions. Its principal activity is thedevelopment, construction and sale of residential properties in large scaledevelopments targeted primarily at the middle income housing market in Russia. PIK's core activities include: • development of residential real estate projects and sales of completed units, including servicing and maintenance of residential real estate developed by PIK and other developers; • production and assembly of concrete panel housing in Moscow as a subcontractor for the Moscow city government; and • production and sale of raw materials and construction materials. The last three years between 2004 and 2006, PIK has completed over 2.5 millionsquare meters of residential housing and over 36,000 residential units inRussia, including over 1.2 million square meters and over 17,000 residentialunits in 2006 alone. June 1, 2007, the Group completed successful listings on the London StockExchange, the RTS and MICEX exchanges in Russia. PIK Group's website address is: www.pik.ru Group Financial Summary Revenue for 2006 rose by 90% and equalled US$ 1,546 million, while EBITDA for2006 amounted to US$ 486 million. Net profit was US$ 298 million in 2006compared to US$ 20 million in 2005. According to CBRE, an independent appraiser, the combined market value of theGroup's properties valued as of January 1, 2007 was $8.8 billion for 8.8 millionunsold square meters. Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or otherforward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financialperformance of PIK. You can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as"expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "will," "could," "may"or "might" the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Thesestatements are only predictions and actual events or results may differmaterially. PIK does not intend to or undertake any obligation to update thesestatements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereofor to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could causethe actual results to differ materially from those contained in PIK'sprojections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, generaleconomic conditions, PIK's competitive environment, risks associated withoperating in Russia, rapid technological and market change, and other factorsspecifically related to PIK and its operations. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange