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Presented by: VTB Bank, Custody
April 15, 2021 Issue No. 2021/14
Market News
Central bank places RUB 32.2 bln coupon bonds out of RUB 196.8 bln On April 14, 2021 it was reported that Russia’s central bank had sold RUB 32.225 bln out of RUB 196.773 bln coupon bonds on April 13. The cut-off and the weighted average prices amounted to 100% of a face value each. Demand totaled RUB 32.366 bln. The settlement date was April 14.
Moscow government to offer RUB 70 bln 3-year bonds on April 27 On April 15, 2021 it was stated that Moscow’s department of finances plans to offer up to RUB 70 bln of 3- year bonds at an auction on the Moscow Exchange on April 27. The bonds will carry semiannual coupons with a rate of 6.55%. The Moscow government earlier approved offering two bonds issues totaling RUB 140 bln to finance development of the city’s infrastructure.
Company News
Sberbank to offer RUB 41 bln 2.5-year and RUB 14 bln 5-year bonds On April 8, 2021 it was reported that Russia's biggest lender Sberbank will offer RUB 41 bln of 2.5-year exchange bonds and RUB 14 bln of 5-year bonds. The bank accepted bids for the bonds of two series from April 5 till April 8. The final coupon guidance for 2.5-year bonds amounts to 6.65%, for 5-year ones to 7.45%. Technical placement is scheduled for April 9 and April 15 respectively. The issues carry semiannual coupons.
Atomenergoprom to offer RUB 10 bln 5-year “green” bonds On April 9, 2021 it was disclosed that Atomenergoprom, which consolidates civil assets of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, plans to offer RUB 10 bln 5-year “green” bonds. The placement is planned until the end of the year. Gazprombank will act as the organizer.
Alfa-Bank raises guidance for exchange bonds to 6.8–7% On April 9, 2021 it was reported that Russia’s Alfa-Bank had raised the coupon guidance for 3-year exchange bonds to 6.8–7% from 6.6–6.8%. The new guidance corresponds to a yield to maturity of 6.92– 7.12%. The bank plans to collect bids for the bonds from Friday till April 14 and will determine the size of the bonds after that. The technical placement is preliminarily scheduled for April 16. The bank will act as the organizer.
Central bank revokes license from Moscow-based Nefteprombank On April 9, 2021 it was reported that the Russian Central Bank had revoked a banking license from Moscow- based Nefteprombank, ranked 201st by assets as of March 1. The bank lost its capital base and performed operations marking illegal money withdrawal. The bank is a member of the deposit insurance system, which means that each depositor may receive up to RUB 1.4 mln in compensation. Payments to the bank’s depositors will start no later than on April 23.
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Bank St Petersburg buys back shares at RUB 58 per share On April 9, 2021 it was stated that the supervisory board of Bank Saint Petersburg had decided to buy back 26 mln common shares of the bank at RUB 58 per security. Bids will be accepted from May 17 until June 21.
DOM.RF to offer RUB 400 bln mortgage bonds in 2021 On April 9, 2021 investor relations director of Russian state housing development institution DOM.RF Alexei Pudovkin said during a forum that the company plans to offer RUB 400 bln of mortgage bonds in 2021. In 2020 DOM.RF placed RUB 370 bln of mortgage bonds.
Norilsk's owners approve USD 2 bln share buyback until 2022 On April 9, 2021 it was stated that the core shareholders of Russian metals producer Norilsk Nickel had reached an agreement to buy back up to USD 2 bln of shares until 2022. The goal of the share buyback is to support the company’s market capitalization. The shareholders see the company as an undervalued one on the market and want to launch a bonus program for executives, allocating 0.5% of shareholder equity on the task. Shareholders of RUSAL and Interros will consider participation in the buyback if it is approved by the board of directors of Norilsk Nickel and RUSAL a representative for Interros said.
Telegram is planning IPO for 2023 to be valued at USD 50 bln On April 12, 2021 business daily Vedomosti reported that Messenger Telegram had started getting ready for a 2023 initial public offering (IPO) to float from 10% to 25% of shares with analysts valuing the whole firm at USD 30–50 bln. Telegram started a pre-IPO research and is choosing a region and a stock exchange for floatation. Besides the IPO, the messenger is considering two more options – direct listing and the launch of a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The exact date of going public will depend on the market. The consultants suggest linking the company’s value to the monthly number of active users and put the value of one user at USD 50. The messenger said earlier its audience exceeded 500 mln users per month. The company may hold the IPO in Asia, the region that accounts for more than 40% of its audience. Telegram earlier sold bonds for more than USD 1 bln to large investors from all over the world.
Ozon agrees to buy 100% of Oney Bank from Sovcombank On April 13, 2021 it was stated that Russian marketplace Ozon had signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Oney Bank from Sovcombank for no more than USD 10 mln. The deal will be closed if approved by the central bank. Ozon said the purchase will help it to develop new products for its fintech division faster. The total amount of the deal will be below USD 10 mln and will depend on the value of Oney Bank’s assets as of the date of the transaction’s closure. Sovcombank bought 100% of Oney Bank in 2020 without disclosing the sum of the deal.
MTS says buys back 0.008% of capital via subsidiary under buyback On April 13, 2021 it was stated that Bastion, a wholly-owned subsidiary of major Russian mobile operator MTS, had acquired 158,200 MTS ordinary shares, representing 0.008% of the operator’s capital. MTS’ board of directors approved a RUB 15 bln buyback program in mid-March, in force since March 30 throughout 2021. Under the program MTS will spend a part of the amount on the acquisition of shares from the market with the rest to buy shares from its parent, multi-industry holding Sistema. Earlier on April 9 it was stated that Bastion had acquired 882,920 shares of the parent company, or 0.04% of the capital, under the buyback program. The shares included American depositary shares (ADS). The country’s law obliges MTS to disclose any shares acquired by itself or any of its subsidiaries.
Obuv Rossii wants to return to dividend payments On April 13, 2021 director for capital markets of Russian shoe retailer OR Group Kirill Streblyansky said in a statement that Obuv Rossii plans to return to dividend payments after reaching stable financials. Streblyansky mentioned that last year, considering the coronavirus pandemic, the company paid no dividends. This year, the management will also recommend the annual meeting of the shareholders not to pay dividends, but then the company plans to return to dividend payments considering the stable growth trend and the financials.
Freight One links dividends to net debt/EBITDA ratio On April 13, 2021 it was disclosed that Russian railway cargo operator Freight One, part of Russian billionaire Vladimir Lisin’s Fletcher Group, had linked the size of its dividends to the ratio of net debt to the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). The company’s board of directors approved a new dividend policy, which envisages that Freight One will pay at least 50% of the net profit, calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), with a ratio of below 1x, at least 30% of
2 the net profit with a ratio of 1–1.5x, and no dividends with a ratio of over 1.5x. According to the disclosed information the board of directors may use other financials for its dividend recommendations.
Co-owner Leonid Mikhelson says no news about Sibur’s IPO On April 14, 2021 co-owner and chairman of the board of directors of Russian petrochemical holding Sibur Leonid Mikhelson told reporters that there are no news and advancements regarding a possible initial public offering (IPO) of the company. Gennady Timchenko, another co-owner of Sibur, said that an IPO is possible if Mikhelson decides so. In February Sibur’s Managing Director for Economics and Finance Peter O’Brien told the Financial Times that the company was not planning an IPO, but was keeping an eye on market opportunities. CEO Dmitry Konov said separately in February that shareholders of Sibur were still thinking about an IPO, but were yet to decide on floating shares. But Mikhelson said then that the market situation in February was not the worst one possible for the IPO. Mikhelson owns 35.98% in Sibur, while Timchenko has a 17% stake, acting and former managers of the company own a total of 14.5%, Sogaz Group has 12.5%, China’s Sinopec has 10%, and China’s Silk Road Fund owns 10%.
VTB buys RUB 276 bln of OFZ bonds at Finance Ministry’s auction On April 15, 2021 it was reported that Russia's second biggest lender VTB had bought RUB 276 bln of OFZ government bonds at an auction of the Finance Ministry on April 14, which accounted for 71.9% of the placed amount. The Finance Ministry placed RUB 383.75 bln of bonds on April 14. Demand totaled RUB 510.64 bln.
Sberbank closes deal to buy 85% in marketplace goods.ru On April 15, 2021 it was disclosed that Digital Assets, a subsidiary of major Russian bank Sberbank, had closed a deal to buy 85% in marketplace goods.ru. The deal was closed on April 14. The share of electronics retailer M.Video-Eldorado Group in the marketplace amounts to 10%, and of the group’s founder Alexander Tynkovan 5%. Sberbank said earlier that it planned with M.Video-Eldorado and Tynkovan to sign a binding agreement by July to develop the marketplace. The bank said it would own 85% of goods.ru by purchasing the stake from M.Video-Eldorado for RUB 4 bln and invest RUB 30 bln in the service’s development.
Freight One retains IPO plans, waits for market stabilization On April 15, 2021 CEO of Russian railway cargo operator Freight One, part of Russian billionaire Vladimir Lisin’s Fletcher Group, Sergei Karatayev told reporters that the company had not dismissed its plans to hold an initial public offering (IPO) and is waiting for normalization of the market situation. Karatayev said that the company is technically ready for an IPO. Karatayev said that Freight One does not associate the approval of a new dividend policy with the IPO. Freight One does not plan to issue new bonds in 2021, but may consider the option in the future, the CEO also said. Karatayev added that the company plans to become one of Russia’s top three container operators thanks to acquiring new equipment and possible M&A deals.
Dividends/coupons Norilsk Nickel can pay RUB 1,021 per share in 2020 dividends On April 9, 2021 it was stated that the board of directors of Russia’s metals giant Norilsk Nickel had recommended paying RUB 1,021.22 per share, or a total of RUB 161.6 bln in dividends for 2020. The shareholders will consider the matter at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for May 19. The register for the meeting will be closed on April 26. The record date is June 1.
Bank Saint Petersburg may pay RUB 0.22 per preferred share in 2020 dividends On April 12, 2021 it was stated that the supervisory board of Bank Saint Petersburg had recommended paying 22 kopecks per preferred share in dividends for 2020 and RUB 4.56 per common share in dividends for the period. The record date was set at June 7. The bank paid RUB 0.11 per preferred share in dividends for January–September 2020.
Segezha Group may pay RUB 3–5.5 bln in dividends per year in 2021–2023 On April 12, 2021 it was reported that the board of directors of Russian pulp and paper holding Segezha Group, a part of multi-industry holding Sistema, had approved a new dividend policy to pay dividends at least once a year with RUB 3–5.5 bln to be paid per year in 2021–2023. Starting from 2024, dividend distributions are to be based on adjusted free cash flow, with a 75%-100% payout stipulated in the dividend policy and potentially higher payouts in case of stronger markets and/or leverage headroom.”
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UniCredit Bank to pay RUB 9.33 bln in dividends for 2020 On April 13, 2021 it was stated Italy’s UniCredit, the sole shareholder of Russia’s UniCredit Bank, had approved a decision of the subsidiary bank paying RUB 9.33 bln in dividends for 2020. In particular, the bank will pay dividends of RUB 8.954 bln from the net profit for 2020 and RUB 374.315 mln from undisbursed profits for previous years.
Sibur owners approve paying RUB 41.2 bln in 2020 dividends On April 14, 2021 it was stated that the shareholders of Russian petrochemical holding Sibur had approved paying RUB 41.173 bln in dividends for 2020. The amount includes RUB 12.48 bln paid in dividends for January–June. The record date is the twelfth day after the dividend approval. Leonid Mikhelson owns 35.98% in Sibur, Gennady Timchenko 17%, Sogaz 12.5%, Sinopec 10%, the Silk Road Fund 10%.
PhosAgro may pay RUB 8.16 bln in final dividends for 2020 On April 14, 2021 it was stated that the board of directors of Russian fertilizer producer PhosAgro had recommended paying RUB 63 per ordinary share, or a total of RUB 8.159 bln in final dividends for 2020. The shareholders will consider the recommendation at an annual general meeting on May 25. The record date for the dividends is June 7. The company previously paid RUB 18 per share or RUB 2.331 bln in final dividends for 2019. In 2020, the company paid RUB 78 per share or RUB 10.101 bln in dividends for January–March, RUB 33 per share or RUB 4.27 bln in dividends for January–June, and a record of RUB 123 per share or RUB 15.929 bln in dividends for January–September. Former Senator Andrei Guryev and members of his family hold 48.52% in PhosAgro, Vladimir Litvinenko owns 20.98%, and free-float is 30.5%.
Sovcomflot may pay RUB 6.67 per share in dividends for 2020 On April 15, 2021 it was stated that the board of directors of Russian shipping company Sovcomflot had recommended paying RUB 6.67 per share, or a total of RUB 15.841 bln in dividends for 2020. In March the board preliminary recommended paying RUB 15.829 bln in dividends for 2020. Sovcomflot paid RUB 7.81 bln in dividends for 2019.
Eurobonds Alfa-Bank plans to place USD 10.5-year Eurobonds On April 13, 2021 it was reported that Alfa-Bank plans to place 10.5-year subordinated Eurobonds denominated in US dollars. The bank will hold a phone conference and a series of calls to investors starting from April 13. Alfa-Bank and J.P. Morgan were appointed as the organizers. The issue carries a 5.5-year call option.
Please be advised that the information presented in this newsletter is based on the following sources: National Settlement Depository (NSD); Clearstream Banking; Euroclear Bank; PRIME-TASS information agency; “Kommersant”, "Rossiyskaya Gazeta”, “Izvestiya, "Vedomosti”, “The Moscow Times“ newspapers, and others.
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