OREANDA-NEWS. Acron Holding’s revenue under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) rose 2,2% to RUR 24,061 billion, up from RUR 23,547 billion in 2005.

Sales were down 16,2% year-on-year to RUR 5,579 billion from RUR 6,659 billion; EBITDA went down to RUR 5,39 billion from RUR 6,148 billion, a 12,3% year-on-year decline that was anticipated due to significantly higher prices on natural gas, apatite concentrate and potassium chloride. Another negative factor was the rouble’s strengthening against the U.S. dollar, since a large part of Acron’s revenue is received in dollars.

Net profit more than doubled to RUR 9,088 billion, including RUR 5,936 billion in gains from reevaluation of financial investments.

As part of its investment programme, Acron spent RUR 2,054 billion on capital investments in 2006, significantly higher than RUR 1,218 billion allocated for this purpose in 2005. Key investment priorities included production diversification and upgrades. Acron intends to fight the effects of higher raw materials prices by expanding its product mix and using resource-friendly technologies.