OREANDA-NEWS. May 26, 2011. In 2010, KOKS Group more than doubled its EBITDA and achieved a significant growth in revenue y-o-y by benefiting from favourable key markets dynamics and capitalising on its competitive advantages Key financial results*:
Consolidated revenue grew by 64 % y-o-y, reaching RUB 44,259m (vs. RUB 26,993m in 2009), caused by increased coke production, growth of global coke and pig iron prices and increased merchant pig iron domestic market sales;
EBITDA grew by 121 % y-o-y from RUB 4,152m in 2009 to RUB 9,159m in 2010;
 EBITDA margin increased from 15 % in 2009 to 21 % in 2010 y-o-y;
Operating profit increased by 286 % to RUB 6,394m, or 14 % of the consolidated revenue (vs. RUB 1,655m in 2009, or 6 % of the consolidated revenue);
 Consolidated net profit was RUB 3,027m in 2010 (vs. a loss from continuing operations of RUB 808m in 2009);
Net сash from operating activities grew by 24 % y-o-y from RUB 6,401m to RUB 7,915m;

and  Capital expenditures increased by 72 % y-o-y from RUB 2,452m to RUB 4,216m. * Financial results from continuing operations (excluding Ufaleinickel which was spun-off in 2010 and left outside the perimeter of KOKS Group) on the basis of the Company’s 2010 IFRS financial statements.

Key operating results:
Coke production rose by 12 % y-o-y from 2.5 m t in 2009 to 2.8 m t in 2010; o Pig iron production was c. 2.1 m t (2009: 2.2 m t), down by 5 %;
 Iron ore concentrate production was essentially flat against 2009 remaining at 2.18 m t (2009: 2.20 m t);
and Coking coal extraction was 1.4 m t (2009: 1.7 m t), down by 18 %.
Key developments:
KOKS Group continued to pursue its strategy aimed at developing a vertically integrated business focused on coking coal extraction and processing and pig iron production.

To this end, in June 2010, KOKS Group discontinued Ufaleinickel, its Nickel segment. As a result of reorganisation efforts, a three-division management structure was created, providing for better management of the day-to-day operations; o In August 2010, to improve its sales efficiency, KOKS Group incorporated Industrial Metallurgical Trading S.A. (“IMT”) responsible for export sales of pig iron and coke produced by the Group; o KOKS Group continued expanding its resource base, having won a tender for a licence to develop the Vladimirskaya-2 mine area based on the Vladimirskaya-1 mine’s infrastructure.

KOKS Group also obtained a licence for underground extraction at the Biryulinskaya mine (the Berezovo-Biryulinskiy coal deposit). KOKS Group also continues the construction of Tikhova and Butovskaya mines. A 10-year loan agreement with Sberbank has been concluded to finance the construction of Butovskaya mine. The financing of Tikhova mine is currently being organized; o To improve the production efficiency all of the KOKS Group’s key facilities are supplied with new equipment. In addition, KOKS Group continues to upgrade the existing equipment; o As part of an environmental protection programme, Tulachermet and the Netherlands company Global Carbon BV signed an agreement for Joint Implementation project development to reduce emissions covered by the Kyoto Protocol. The project seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions through upgrading the blast furnace production facilities at Tulachermet and obtain funds partially offsetting the upgrade costs. The efforts under the project helped cut the consumption of coke per tonne of pig iron produced and significantly reduced СО2 emissions of Blast Furnace No. 3; o In 2010, the KOKS Group’s key products were successfully registered with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) under its REACh chemicals regulation.

The registration of the substances manufactured by the Group allowed for free sales of its products to the EU member states; and o The international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s assigned a “B” long-term corporate credit rating (outlook “stable”) to Koks in August 2010. In February 2011 Moody’s Investors Service assigned Koks a “B2” corporate family rating (outlook “stable”). Mr. Evgeniy Zubitskiy, the President and Chairman of the Management Board of Koks, has commented on the FY2010 results: “In 2010, KOKS Group demonstrated a very good financial performance and I am glad to note that each of our three divisions greatly contributed to KOKS Group’s overall success. We attribute the improved financial results to both the significant increases in the global prices of raw materials, coke and merchant pig iron, and the increased coke production and merchant pig iron sales on the domestic market. We have taken efforts to improve the production efficiency and grow our production capacity of key facilities, providing a solid platform to further improve the KOKS Group’s financials.

The Group’s leadership in key pig iron and coke markets and its stable financial position allow for the development of the Group in accordance with our strategy aimed to further enhance our vertically integrated business model and improve our operational efficiency through production asset upgrades”. Full audited consolidated financial statements of Koks for the three years ended 31 December 2010, 2009, and 2008, prepared in accordance with IFRS, are available at: http://www.koksgroup.ru/investor-relations/information-disclosures/financials/ About the Company: KOKS Group is a vertically integrated business focusing on pig iron and coke production, and extraction and processing of coking coal and iron ore. KOKS Group is the world’s largest exporter of merchant pig iron, as well as a leading producer of merchant coke in Russia and Russia’s largest coke exporter.

KOKS Group’s three operational divisions are Coal & Coke, Ore & Pig iron and Powder metallurgy. KOKS Group’s key production facilities are located in the Kemerovo and Tula Regions of the Russian Federation. For additional details, please visit our corporate site www.koksgroup.com or address any information inquiries to Mr. Sergey Frolov IR Director Office: +7 495 725 5680 (ext. 156) E-mail: frolov@metholding.com