Page 140 - bneIntelliNews monthly country report Russia May 2024

quarterly dividend yield at the closing price on April 22 and about 100% of free cash flow for 1Q24. The registry closes on June 18.
According to Vedomosti, Severstal and FAS, as part of a settlement
agreement, agreed to reduce the fine in the case of inflating prices for rolled steel by almost 10 times - from 8.7 billion rubles. up to less than 900 million rubles. The settlement agreement is subject to approval by the court and can be considered at a meeting on May 27. In our opinion, the news is positive for the company. The new amount, we estimate, is equivalent to less than 1% of the company's 2024 net income.
On Thursday (April 25), MMK published IFRS financial results for 1Q24,
the results were generally in line with consensus expectations. The company's revenue increased by 25.5% y/y to RUB 193bn. against the backdrop of rising average selling prices, EBITDA increased by 28% y/y to RUB 42bn. Net profit amounted to 23.7bn rubles. (+20.5% y/y), net profit adjusted for exchange rate differences, according to our estimates, amounted to 24bn rubles. (+50% y/y). Free cash flow decreased by 41% y/y to RUB 7.9bn. due to increased investment in working capital and capital expenditures (+16% y/y). The company has not yet declared a dividend for 2023, however, according to Interfax, the recommendation of the board of directors may be disclosed in the near future. According to our estimates, if the company decides to distribute 100% of free cash flow for 2023, the dividend could be RUB 2.75 per share. (dividend yield of about 4.9% at current prices), however, we do not rule out a higher payout ratio similar to NLMK and Severstal.
9.2.13 Mines and Minerals - fertilisers
In February 2024, the EU purchased a record 521,000 tons of fertilisers from Russia, valued at 167 million euros, marking the highest volume since December 2022. Poland remains the largest customer, setting a new record for purchases since 2021.
Interestingly, the EU has calculated that the carbon footprint of Russian fertilisers is 60% higher than that of European-made fertilisers. However, even with the cross-border carbon levy and additional taxes, Russian fertilisers remain more cost-effective.
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Europe is more food dependent on Moscow now than we were before the war, with the bloc replacing energy dependency with fertiliser dependency, the CEO and president of Norwegian chemical company Yara warned.
According to Eurostat data presented in the margins of the meeting, total
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