Polymetal changed its mind about selling the Russian business

The head of the Russian-British gold mining company Polymetal, Vitaly Nesis, said at a teleconference with investors that the possibility of selling Russian assets is no longer being considered. A month ago, he said that Polymetal was working on a business split to protect assets outside of Russia from sanctions.

“The sale of Russian assets is no longer considered. Our goal is to maintain shareholder value. We believe that the optimal scenario is the division of assets between the two jurisdictions, which will allow shareholders to get the maximum benefit from assets in the two countries,” Mr. Nesis said on November 2 (quoted by TASS).

From the operating results for the third quarter of 2022, published also today, November 2, it follows that in January-September, Polymetal reduced gold production by 2% in annual terms (to 1.014 million ounces), silver – by 1% (to 13.8 million ounces). Revenue in January-September fell by 16% compared to the same period in 2021 (to $1.8 million). Net debt rose to $2.8 billion from $1.6 billion a year earlier.

After the publication of the financial statements, the share price of Polymetal on the Moscow Exchange fell by 1.25% since the opening of trading. By 14:43 they were trading at 291.9 rubles. per share.

Polymetal is one of the world’s top ten gold producers and one of the top five silver producers. October 4 The Financial Times published an article in which Vitaly Nesis said that the company was thinking of changing its registration from the island of Jersey (an island in the English Channel) to a territory more “friendly” to Russia. He also said that Polymetal is seeking to share assets to protect foreign businesses from sanctions. He estimated the chances of restructuring as “more than 50%, but less than 100%.”

More details – in the material “Kommersant” “Polymetal of Kazakhstan sample”.

Olesya Pavlenko