Page 8 - Buy Russia - bne IntelliNews monthly magazine April 2017

8 I The Month That Was bne April 2017
Business
Central Europe
Enea acquired a 100% stake in Engie Energia Polska – the Polish business of French power company Engie – for PLN1.26bn (€290mn), the state-con- trolled Polish utility said. The deal sees Poland broaden its control over the energy sector, in line with ongoing gov- ernment policy that demands strategic branches of the economy should see more state involvement.
Slovakia and Hungary signed off on two new power links. Slovakia's SEPS and Hungary's MAVIR signed an €80mn agreement that should help alleviate bottlenecks within the Central Europe transmission system that have been awaiting a solution for over 20 years.
Czech carmaker Skoda Auto reported a 34% jump in net profit to CZK26bn (€962mn) for 2016. The Czech Repub- lic’s largest company by turnover, which is owned by the German carmaker Volk- swagen, raised turnover around 10%
to CZK370bn. The carmaker produced 1.127mn cars last year.
Czech energy group CEZ reported adjusted net profit for 2016 above guidance and expectations at CZK19.6bn (€725mn). CEZ reported a 3% y/y decline in 2016 sales. Manage- ment said it will temporarily raise the dividend payout ratio to 60-100%, from 60-80% in recent years, giving a 2016 payout of CZK33 per share.
Southeast Europe
Austrian energy company EVN has put plans to build a hydropower complex in Bulgaria on hold citing changes
to incentives for renewable electricity generation. The Gorna Arda complex in southeast Bulgaria was to comprise three hydropower plants with average annual production of 440 GWh.
A Turkish-South Korean consortium inked a deal on March 16 to build the
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world's longest suspension bridge over the Dardanelles Strait. The consortium, made up of South Korea’s Daelim, SK E&C, and Turkish Yapi Limak, won the tender in January. The project, worth around $3bn, involves building a 3.7km suspension bridge and an access road connecting Lapseki and Gallipoli.
Russian real estate developer PIK Group will delist its global depositary receipts from the London Stock Exchange to con- solidate trade in its shares on the Moscow Exchange, the latest in a string of Russian companies leaving the London market.
Eurasia
Iran’s crude oil exports hit 3mn barrels a day for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since the ending
of economic restrictions last year, the Iranian oil industry has revived output to near pre-sanctions levels of around 4mn bbl/d. Prior to the revolution in the 1970s output exceeded 6mn bbl/day.
The Swedish branch of Canadian aerospace multinational Bombardier is suspected of bribing its way into a $350mn con- tract for interlocking systems for railway switches with the government of Azerbai- jan, according to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
Uzbek car output declined 52.5% y/y to 88,150 units in 2016. As Russia’s economy bottomed out, so did demand for Uzbek cars. GM Uzbekistan’s car sales on the Russian market plunged 46.4% y/y to 10,057 units in Jan-Nov 2016.
The European Court of Human Rights indefinitely extended its suspension of a Georgian Supreme Court verdict against the decidedly anti-government broadcaster Rustavi 2. The country's most watched
TV channel has long been embroiled in an ownership battle. The verdict granted sole channel ownership to an ex-shareholder known for his government ties.
Eastern Europe
The European Commission signalled that Russian gas giant Gazprom has made enough concessions for it to drop its competition probe. The move has angered CEE states, which have in the past fought legal battles over the price and con- ditions contained in long-term contracts with Gazprom, and argue that Moscow uses its dominant position to maintain political leverage across the region.
Aluminium major Rusal will be the first Russian company to tap the Asian bond market by issuing a "panda bond" denominated in Chinese renmin- bi. According to a report, Rusal will issue CNY1bn (€137.8mn) worth of the bonds with a duration of three years.
Russian metals major Norilsk Nickel last year increased net IFRS profit by 47% year-on-year to $2.53bn. Rev- enues grew 3% y/y to $8.26bn, with Ebitda down by 9% y/y to $3.9bn. The Ebitda margin, however, remained high at 47% versus 50% seen in 2015. The company said it intends to distribute 60% of Ebitda to shareholders.
Apple Rus has been found guilty by Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Ser- vice of fixing prices for iPhone 5 and 6 series models. The ruling caps a string of cases where the Russian authorities have applied pressure on foreign tech and dig- ital companies. In the Apple case, which saw a seven-month investigation by FAS, most retailers in Russia were reportedly setting the prices on the iPhones prior
to the launch of the sales, which was coordinated with Apple Rus.