Kuzbass Fuel Co boosts coal output 22% in Q1
KEMEROVO. May 4(Interfax) - Steam coal producer OJSC Kuzbasskaya Toplivnaya Company (Kuzbass Fuel Company) boosted coal production 22% year-on-year in Q1 2011 to 1.83 million tonnes, the company said in a press release.
Coal sales grew 26% year-on-year to 2.43 million tonnes and consisted of 1.92 million tonnes mined by the company and 510,000 tonnes of purchased coal.
Exports soared 88% and domestic sales rose 13%. Exports accounted for 58% of coal sales, up from 38% a year previously.
The biggest export markets are Poland (55% of exports) and China and South Korea (42% between them). Coal was also exported to the Czech Republic and Greece.
The average sale price of the coal before VAT and rail freight costs rose 11% to 1,155 rubles per tonne in Q1 2011 compared with Q4 2010 and 32% compared with Q1 2010. Domestically sold coal rose 10% (25%) in price to 1,090 rubles. Export coal rose 8% (36%) to 1,203 rubles a tonne because coal was shipped abroad under new contracts signed at the end of last year and early 2011.
Kuzbass Fuel Company, based in the Kemerovo region in West Siberia, raised $163 million with an IPO in Russia in May last year. Following the IPO, Mizar Management owned 48.4% of the company on behalf of its general director, Igor Prokudin (56.94% pre-IPO), Laycraft holding owned 16.27% on behalf of the board chairman, Vadim Danilov (28%), and the free float increased to 35.2% from 11%. Igor Prokudin owned an overall 60.9% stake in Kuzbass Fuel Company before the IPO.
The company told Interfax on May 4 that Prokudin had increased his stake to 50% plus one share from 48%. It did not say who he bought the shares from on the grounds that "the material fact has not yet been published," but it did say the deal has been structured in "such a way that it does not require an offer to be made to minority shareholders."
The Vostok Nafta investment fund, which had subscribed to a private placement by Kuzbass Fuel Co in the autumn of 2008, was one of the main portfolio investors in the IPO and owned 3.53% as the result of the offering.
Templeton Russia and East European Fund bought 125,000 shares in the IPO, and Kuzbass Fuel Co said in October last year that Genesis Asset Management had consolidated 5.4% ordinary shares.