Avtovaz unfazed by freezing of accounts in Cyprus
MOSCOW. April 19 (Interfax) - The money that has been frozen in the Cypriot bank accounts of Lada International, the Cyprus-based subsidiary of Avtovaz , will not affect the Russian carmaker's operations, Avtovaz president Igor Komarov said on Thursday.
"We don't plan to use these funds in our activities, neither operations nor investment. This is an independent company that operates independently and sells automobiles in other countries," Komarov told reporters on the sidelines of the Russia 2013 forum organized by Sberbank .
Avtovaz disclosed in its IFRS financial statement for 2012 that 641 million rubles have been frozen in major Cypriot banks that are being restructured as part of the financial aid program for Cyprus.
"As a result of the banking crisis in Cyprus there is a risk that part of these funds will not be returned. Management cannot assess the amount of potential losses as of the date of approval of the financial statement. The restrictions mentioned above could affect the group's assets," the statement said.
The amount of money frozen in Cypriot banks is equivalent to about 40% of Avtovaz's profit for 2012, before discounting of interest-free loans.
A spokesman for Avtovaz told Interfax that this referred to the funds of Lada International, a Cyprus-based company that exports Lada cars. "We will follow the situation. It is premature to talk about the scale of damages," he said.
Avtovaz's net profit to IFRS soared 340% to 29.8 billion rubles in 2012, including 27.6 billion rubles in income from discounting of interest-free loans.
