Avtodom sees record 44 bln rubles in profit on difference between value of Mercedes assets in Russia and their price of purchase

MOSCOW. Aug 30 (Interfax) - Avtodom, a dealer of premium car brands, estimated the value of the acquired Russian assets of Mercedes-Benz at 39.5 billion rubles, according to the company's condensed IFRS financial statements for H1 2023.

The company reported other income for H1 of the year totaling 44.7 billion rubles, within which 39.5 billion rubles accounted for the fair value of 100% shares of five subsidiaries of the German car maker acquired by the company this year - MB Rus JSC (the official distributor of Mercedes in Russia), MB Rus Manufacturing LLC (the Mercedes car plant near Moscow), MB Rus Capital LLC and MB Rus Finance LLC (rent, leasing, factoring and insurance), as well as MB Rus Bank LLC.

The total of 39.5 billion rubles, according to the financial statements, is due to the difference between the value of assets acquired by Avtodom (more than 84 billion rubles together with liabilities) and liabilities on them (44.6 billion rubles). In particular, acquired fixed assets, the valuation of which usually includes the value of production assets, was estimated at 12 billion rubles, inventories - a total of 11.7 billion rubles, trade and other receivables - 7.8 billion rubles, borrowed funds - 9.5 billion rubles, other assets - 5.8 billion rubles. The cash indicator for the five companies, including the bank, is reflected in an amount of 16.8 billion rubles.

The dealer does not directly report the value of transactions with Mercedes assets, but states that the total amount of "compensation transferred in the acquisition" of assets and liabilities of the five subsidiaries amounted to a token 6,000 rubles. The press service of the dealer did not comment on the value of the transaction and does not specify how exactly it could have been reflected in reporting.

According to the report, the deal generated a record net profit of 44 bln rubles for Avtodom compared with 1.6 billion rubles a year earlier. In H1 this year, the company decided to pay more than 1 billion rubles in dividends.

Avtodom announced the acquisition of the Russian assets of Mercedes at the end of April. The dealer noted that "it was a long and difficult process of transferring foreign assets to a local investor". The value of the deal was not disclosed. In late November, the dealer reported that the German company would be given an option to buy back shares in the transferred legal entities "for a fair market price to be determined by an independent appraiser".

"Now that the deal is closed, we are happy to announce the earliest possible resumption of service for Mercedes-Benz vehicles in Russia and the operations of the rest of the company. Today everyone is concerned about what will happen to the plant. In the near future we will be able to announce a technological partner and share our plans to resume production. The most important factor for us is the preservation of employees' jobs," the Avtodom press service quoted CEO Andrei Olkhovsky as saying.

The company noted that the options for tapping a partner to restart the Moscow Region car plant are being worked on jointly with the Industry and Trade Ministry. The Mercedes plant was built in two years and opened in the spring of 2019. Its production capacity allows for full-cycle production of 25,000-30,000 cars per year. The plant's first model was an E-class sedan. Plans called for gradually establishing the production of GLE, GLC and GLS SUVs.

Avtodom dealer group was founded in 1992 and is one of the largest Russian holdings for sales and service of premium and luxury cars. The company's portfolio includes 14 brands: Aurus, BMW, BMW Motorrad, MINI, Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar, Ducati, BRP and KTM. The dealer has 36 locations in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar.

The final beneficiary of Avtodom JSC is Andrei Olkhovsky. Previously, he controlled 50.1% of the dealer's shares through Bridge Capital LLC, while another 46.8% belonged to his partner Andrei Kostin, who withdrew from the dealer's capital in mid-May.