URALCHEM HOLDING P.L.C. reports IFRS financial results for the year ended 31 December 2011

26.03.2012
  • Revenue increased to US $ 2,080 million, compared to US $ 1,389 million in 2010.
  • Operating profit increased to US $ 661 million, compared with US $ 205 million in 2010.
  • Adjusted EBITDA grew to US $ 752 million, compared to US $ 309 million in 2010.
  • Profit for the year amounted to US $ 445 million, compared with US $ 35 million in 2010.

Moscow, Russia - March 26, 2012. URALCHEM HOLDING P.L.C. (hereinafter URALCHEM Holding or the Company), a Cypriot holding company of the URALCHEM Group (hereinafter the Group), one of the largest producers of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers in Russia, announced its audited IFRS financial results for the year ended 31 December 2011.

Key Financial Figures for 2011 and 2010 (US $ million)

2011

2010[1]

Year-on-Year Change, %

Revenue

2,080

1,389

50%

Gross profit

1,212

663

83%

Gross profit margin

58%

48%

21%

Operating profit

661

205

222%

Operating profit margin

32%

15%

113%

Profit for the year

445

35

1,171%

Profit for the year margin

21%

2%

950%

Adjusted EBITDA

752

309

143%

Adjusted EBITDA margin

36%

22%

64%

Cash generated from operating activities

525

135

289%

Dmitry Konyaev, CEO of URALCHEM, OJSC (a Russian holding company of the Group), commented on the 2011 results: “With the favorable market conditions in 2011 the Group achieved record financial and operating results. The volume of marketable production reached 5 million tons, which is in excess of the planned figures. The acquisition of Perm Mineral Fertilizers, JSC, will strengthen the Group's position in the nitrogen segment and will allow it to produce 18% to 20% of domestic urea. Thus, URALCHEM can now become the second largest urea producer in Russia.”

Financial Results

Revenue for the year 2011 grew to US $ 2,080 million, compared to US $ 1,389 million in 2010. Operating profit amounted to US $ 661 million, or 32% of the revenue, compared with the operating profit of US $ 205 million, or 15% of the revenue in 2010. Profit for the year amounted to US $ 445 in 2011, compared to US $ 35 million in 2010.

During the year ended 31 December 2011, adjusted EBITDA reached US $ 752 million, compared to US $ 309 million the year before, a rise of 143%. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the year 2011 comprised 36% of revenue compared with 22% of revenue for the year ended 31 December 2010.

Markets

The urea market dynamics during the period January to September 2011 were significantly different compared to the same period in 2010; the traditional weakening of the market in the 1st quarter was replaced by a sharp rise in prices, which continued throughout the 2nd quarter and amounted to almost $ 200 / t. Then, after a brief downward correction, prices were restored and stabilized in the range of $ 480 - $ 500 / t FOB Yuzhny port. The main reason for the sharp rise in prices was the imbalance between limited supply and the strong demand from the markets in Asia, Latin America and Africa. In the 4th quarter there was a seasonal slump in prices. The situation was determined by high levels of stocks by traders and producers, as well as by the suppliers’ desire to sell their long positions before the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The ammonium nitrate market during the first half of the year basically repeated the dynamics of urea market. However, during the third quarter, because of the effect of lower demand in all major markets, the prices of ammonium nitrate significantly decreased – back to the level of the beginning of the year. During August - September there were price fluctuations within the range of $ 310 - $ 330 / t FOB CIS. In the fourth quarter the decline in prices for ammonium nitrate was mainly due to pressure from the price of urea.

Since the beginning of 2011, the global market of phosphorus fertilizers was characterized by stable shortages that arose due to the decrease in supply from major sources. Prices increased steadily and in September 2011 reached the level that exceeded the same period the year before by 33%. Large volumes of imports of phosphate fertilizers to South Asia and Latin America during the period from the first to the third quarter 2011 allowed large amounts of stocks to accumulate, which led to the decrease in prices in the fourth quarter.

The NPK market in 2011 basically repeated the dynamics of phosphates.

Sales

Against the background of steady high demand for mineral fertilizers in Russia and abroad for most of 2011, the Group’s sales rose by 7% compared to 2010, amounting to a total of 4,920 thousand tons. Sales of urea increased by 18%, sales of phosphate fertilizers grew by 10%. Sales of "other chemicals" increased by 55% due to the increase of sales of ammonium nitrate for industrial use, as well as launch of export sales of new products.

Sales of Commercial Products of URALCHEM Group in 2011-2010 (thousands of tons)

Name of Product

2011

2010

Year-on-Year Change, %

Ammonium nitrate and its derivatives

2,169

2,225

-3%

Complex fertilizers

584

591

-1%

Phosphate fertilizers

543

494

10%

Urea

521

440

18%

Ammonia

449

407

10%

Other chemicals, including ammonium nitrate for industrial use

654

421

55%

Total

4,920

4,578

7%

Financial Situation

Due to the increase in revenue, cash generated from operating activities amounted to US $ 525 million for the year ended 31 December 2011, compared to US $ 135 million for the same period the year before.

On 31 December 2011, the Company’s net debt[2] amounted to US $ 930.8 million. The weighted average interest rate in the loan portfolio for the year ended 31 December 2011 amounted to 6.35% compared to 9.07% for the year ended 31 December 2010.

Annex to the press release about the audited financial results for the ended 31 December 2011

EBITDA is a profit / loss from financial and economic activities during the reporting period, before deduction of income tax on profits, income and interest costs, depreciation and amortization. "Adjusted EBITDA" is EBITDA for the reporting period before goodwill, profit / loss from associates, profit / loss on foreign exchange differences arising on financial performance and profit / loss on operations with derivative financial instruments. Adjusted EBITDA is operating profit before depreciation and amortization and financial results of operations with derivative financial instruments. In accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), depreciation and amortization are included in cost structure, and in the selling, general and administrative expenses. IFRS does not require the disclosure and does not describe the calculation of EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, among other financial indicators, so they can not substitute for net profit for the period when evaluating the results of operations or the measure of cash provided by operating activities when evaluating liquidity. Approach to the calculation of EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, as described earlier, may not coincide with the approaches used by other companies, therefore, comparability may be limited. We believe that EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA provide useful information to investors because they are indicators of the stability and efficiency of our business and our ability to fund discretionary spending such as capital expenditures, the acquisition of subsidiaries and other investments, as well as indicators of our ability to incur and service debt. IFRS classifies depreciation and amortization to operating costs, while in fact they are distributed to the current period non-cash expenses for the acquisition or creation of fixed assets, incurred in previous periods, and are not affiliated with the movement of funds.

Calculation of EBITDA for the years 2011 - 2010 (Thousands of US dollars)

2011

2010[3]

Profit for the year

444,646

34,968

Add:

Income tax expense

113,261

24,203

Interest income

(1,531)

(1,137)

Interest costs

115,066

150,304

Depreciation and amortisation

90,727

103,932

Share of profit of associates

(49,541)

(22,257)

Other financial expenses

280

2,357

Impairment of non-current assets

-

11,147

Foreign exсhange loss from financing activities

38,957

5,646

Adjusted EBITDA

751,865

309,163



[1] Subsequent to the issuance of the Group’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2010, the Group obtained control over Perm Mineral Fertilizers the former associate of the Group and received complete information to apply equity method of accounting in accordance with the requirements of IAS 28 Investments in Associates. As a result, the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2010 were restated.

[2] Net debt is calculated as the sum of all financial liabilities minus cash and its equivalent.

[3] Subsequent to the issuance of the Group’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2010, the Group obtained control over Perm Mineral Fertilizers the former associate of the Group and received complete information to apply equity method of accounting in accordance with the requirements of IAS 28 Investments in Associates. As a result, the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2010 were restated.