SSA.L Regulatory News (SSA)

28 Oct 2013 07:00

Sistema JSFC (“Sistema” or the “Company”) (LSE: SSA), the largest publicly-traded diversified holding company in Russia and the CIS, today announces that the Company’s Board of Directors, amongst corporate, strategy and investments agenda items, has approved a change in the Company’s Management Board, appointing Oleg Mubarakshin as Vice President for Legal Division. Anna Goldin, who previously held this position, will remain with the Company as Special Adviser to the Chairman of the Board of Directors and will be in charge of certain corporate projects.

The Board of Directors also approved Sistema’s new motivational programme for its portfolios and functional divisions. The new programme applies to Sistema’s employees and rewards them based on cash generation and share price performance principles. In accordance with the approved scheme, the bonus allocation for Sistema’s employees will be based on cash received to the holding level from each portfolio. This principle excludes existing dividend streams from MTS and Bashneft, but it will take into account any new dividend streams, as well as net cash gains from divestments and exits. The potential bonus pools generated by cash inflows will be net of the portfolio costs and a hurdle rate equal to Central Bank interest rate. In addition, the Long Term Incentive plan, which rewards the Company’s senior management in the form of Sistema shares, is based on Sistema’s annual share price and total shareholder return (TSR) performance.

Vladimir Evtushenkov, Chairman of Sistema, commented:

“The changes adapted to Sistema’s motivational programme are a significant milestone in our drive to transform the Company into a more agile and return driven investment vehicle. In accordance with best industry practices, Sistema’s management will now be rewarded on the basis of cash returns generated by each portfolio. We believe this creates a more fair remuneration story fully aligned with our objectives of maintaining strict cost controls at the holding level and progressively increasing returns to shareholders.”

Biographical Information:

Oleg Mubarakshin was formerly a member of the Management Board and Head of Legal Department at EastOne Investment and Consulting Group. Prior to EastOne, Mr Mubarakshin held senior management roles in InBev FMCG Group, where he was responsible for Legal affairs in Central and Eastern Europe and later Western Europe. In addition, between 1996 and 1998, Mr Mubarakshin was Deputy CEO of Legal Affairs at the Belye Nochi, a Russian oil and gas exploration and production company. Mr Mubarakshin holds a degree in law from Moscow State Academy of Law, a degree in Finance and Credit from the Finance Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation and completed training at the Military Institute of the Defence Ministry.

***

For further information, please visit www.sistema.com or contact:

Sistema is the largest publicly-traded diversified holding company in Russia and the CIS, which invests in and is a major shareholder of companies serving over 100 million customers in the sectors of telecommunications, high technology, oil and energy, radars and aerospace, banking, retail, mass-media, tourism and healthcare services. Founded in 1993, the Company reported revenues of US$ 8.5 billion for the second quarter of 2013, and total assets of US$ 44.4 billion as at June 30, 2013. Sistema’s global depository receipts are listed under the symbol “SSA” on the London Stock Exchange. Sistema’s ordinary shares are listed under the symbol “AFKS” on the MICEX-RTS Stock Exchange. Sistema was ranked number 315 in the 2011 edition of the Fortune Global 500 list. Website: www.sistema.com

The Company is not an investment company, and is not and will not be registered as such, under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940.

Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Sistema. 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. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. In addition, there is no assurance that the new contracts entered into by our subsidiaries referenced above will be completed on the terms contained therein or at all. We do not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, general economic conditions, our competitive environment, risks associated with operating in Russia, rapid technological and market change in our industries, as well as many other risks specifically related to Sistema and its operations.

Copyright Business Wire 2013