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bne Invest
May 31, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 11
Shoe retailer Obuv Rossii recommends dividends at 5% yield
The board of Russian shoe manufacturer
and retailer Obuv Rossii (Shoes of Russia) recommended RUB2.36 per share to be paid in 2018 dividends, in line with the current dividend policy of 20% of IFRS net profit.
"Dividends’ recommendation coincides with the current dividend policy, implying 20% payout
from IFRS Net income,'' BCS Global Markets commented on May 27, estimating the dividend yield at 4.95%. The general shareholder meeting of the company will be held on June 28 and record date for the payment is set for July 18.
Obuv Rossii (Shoes of Russia) more than doubled its IFRS net profit in 1Q19, posting bottom line growth of 161% to RUB217mn (up by 126% to $3mn in US dollar terms). The company's Ebitda
was up by 77% y/y, with both net profit and earnings beating consensus expectations for the reporting quarter.
Obuv is a classic Russian retail story. It’s offering is priced in the mid-market and focuses on the bur- geoning middle class living in the regions. Russia’s footwear market is in recovery mode and has long- term growth potential as Russians own a fraction of the shoes that their western peers do, the com- pany's CEO Anton Titov told bne IntelliNews at the time of the rare IPO in October 2017.
In April, the company provided the store opening guidance for 2019, planning to open 150 new stores. As of end of March 2019, the total number of the points of sale stood at 756 stores, including 167 franchise stores.
Aeroflot’s operational results stable in January-April
Russian national air carrier Aeroflot increased its passenger turnover in April 2019 by 13% year- on-year to 4.7mn passengers, with the revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) up by 13.8% and available seat kilometres (ASK) up by 14%.
For January-April overall RPK rose by 16%, with international flights showing 17% and domestic 14% growth. ASK increased by 17% and passen- ger load factor (PLF) remained stable at 79%.
"Passenger volumes and turnover grew in 4Q19 due to 11% fleet increase in 2018. In addition, as seen from Aeroflot’s 1Q19 RAS financials, yields also grew 5-6%, providing a positive read through
for 1Q19 IFRS revenue, which is expected to be up at least 20%," BCS Global Markets commented on May 27.
However, the pressure on costs remains strong, coming from higher y/y ruble-denominated fuel prices and dollar inflation, BCS GM notes, thus not expecting strong revenue growth to translate into similar growth in operating profits. The results are seen as neutral for Aeroflot.
Aeroflot was one of investor darlings in 2017, but rising costs of both staff and fuel have hurt its bottom line last year.