OREANDA-NEWS. EuroChem Group AG (hereinafter EuroChem, Group or Company) today reported consolidated revenues for the third quarter of 2014 of USD 1.19 billion (RUB 43.1bn), 4% below the USD 1.24 billion (RUB 41.0bn) recorded over the same period a year ago. The third quarter results brought the Group's total revenues for the first nine months of the year to USD 3.94 billion (RUB 139.5bn), which was 6% lower than in the same period last year.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter jumped 41% year-on-year to USD 365 million (RUB 13.2bn) as compared to USD 259 million (RUB 8.7bn) in the third quarter of 2013. The strong third-quarter performance carried the Group's EBITDA for the first nine months of the year to USD 1.09 billion (RUB 38.6bn) or 2% above the USD 1.01 billion achieved during the same period a year ago.

The negative impact of the sharp depreciation of the Russian rouble versus the US dollar and the resulting non-cash effects on the Group's debt portfolio led to a third quarter net loss of USD 240 million.

Third quarter sales volumes, excluding raw material mining and hydrocarbons, amounted to 4.0 million tonnes (MMT), which represented a 14% increase on the 3.5 MMT sold in the third quarter of 2013. Sales volumes for the first nine months of the year climbed 12% year-on-year to 12.7 MMT.

Against a backdrop of considerably weaker demand for iron ore, our sales volumes for mineral raw materials for the three months ended 30 September 2014 amounted to 1.4 MMT, which represented a 9% decrease on the 1.6 MMT sold over the same period a year earlier. Despite slower trading in the third quarter, volumes for the first nine months of the year remained just 2% behind year-on-year following this year's strong first quarter trading.

"The flexibility of our production chain allowed us to fully capitalize on the advantages provided by our low cost base", commented EuroChem CEO Dmitry Strezhnev. "On a different subject, this quarter, EuroChem reports for the first time at the level of its new holding company based in Zug, which is both a reflection of the growing internationalisation of our business and a milestone in corporate development."