Page 24 - BNE_magazine_10_2020

24 I Companies & Markets bne October 2020
The Ministry of Economic Development previously spoke
in favour of cutting stakes in Sovkomflot maritime shipping (100% state stake), RusHydro hydropower holding (61.2%), Transneft oil pipeline operator (78.55%), Rosseti grid operator (88.04%), Rostelecom integrated telecom major (45.04%) and United Grain Company grain exporter (50% plus one share).
The announced IPO of at least $500mn via an additional share issuance should further improve the company’s credit profile, BCS Global Markets commented on September 16, seeing the potential deal as positive for credit metrics and carrying no risks for the discontinuation of government support.
"The management said it will spend the proceeds on corporate purposes such as capex and debt reduction," BCS GM notes.
BCS GM reminds that the company has consistently strengthened its credit profile in recent years, with Ebitda margin jumping to 60.0% in 1H20 versus 50% in 2019 and 39% in 2019. In addition, net debt decreased by 10% half on half to
bne:Deal
$2.7bn and leverage declined to 2.7x as of 1H20 versus 3.7x in 2019 (5.4x in 2018). "On the other hand, the management announced plans to increase dividend payments to $225mn for 2020 versus $97mn for 2019, which might somewhat slow down further deleveraging," BCS GM adds.
Sovkomflot reported a record-high profit of $225mn under IFRS in 2019, swinging from a loss of $45mn in 2018 and $113mn in 2017. The company's revenues were up by 10% to $1.66bn, and Ebitda jumped by 42% to $823mn.
Record-high financials for 2019 are attributed to higher income from conventional tanker transportation. The company's strategy until 2025 is still focused on large-scale industrial projects and transportation in difficult Arctic conditions.
In 2019 Sovkomflot added four tankers to its fleet. The company also struck a major deal on gas-powered tankers to service the Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects of Novatek gas major, as well as two tanker deals for the Sakhalin-1 project.
Shares of Russian Yandex soar on Tinkoff Bank mega-merger
IntelliNews Pro
Shares of Russian internet major Yandex jumped by 14% on the Moscow Exchange on September 23, on top of 11% gain on September 22, to record-high RUB5,300 ($69) per share on the announcement of a $5.5bn acquisition of Russia's only pure online bank Tinkoff from the banking TCS Group.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, after a divorce from state- controlled Sberbank, Yandex has ventured on to the financial services terrain and has negotiated to acquire online bank Tinkoff for $5.5bn.
The deal is the biggest merger since white good retail chains M.Video joined forces with Eldorado in March 2018 to create one of the largest retailers of consumer electronics in Europe.
Sberbank under its CEO, German Gref, has set out to manage an all-encompassing digital ecosystem under the Sber brand. By 2022 Sberbank plans to move about 80% of its services onto the new platform.
The reaction to the merger of Yandex and Tinkoff is positive, with strong synergies seen between two major players in their respective markets, posing serious competitive threat to Sberbank and the emerging Sber ecosystem.
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Previously the founder of TCS Group, Oleg Tinkov, and the founder of Yandex, Arcady Volozh, flirted with the merger idea, arguing that capitalisation of the merged company could exceed $20bn and unite prime human resources in both segments, making a strong competitor for Sberbank.
Forbes estimated that the fortunes of Volozh and of Tinkov gained $227mn and $32mn since the announcement. In a separate report, Tinkov said that his bank will maintain the Tinkoff brand after the merger with Yandex, with no major changes for the existing clients of the bank. Tinkov personally holds 40.4% in TCS Group and 88.6% of votes, with another 6.5% held by the management and the rest freefloated.