Moscow – The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Shareholders of PhosAgro (“Company”, “Group”, Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR) has approved the Company’s 2020 Annual Report, which reflects record production results.
Amid the pandemic, PhosAgro, under the leadership of Andrey Guryev, set an all-time record by producing 10.2 million tonnes of eco-efficient fertilizer products during the year – 5% more than in 2019 – while ensuring a reliable supply of mineral fertilizers to the Company’s priority Russian market and to 102 more countries around the world.
Investment projects are being carried out according to plan. For example, the SK-3300 sulphuric acid production line was launched, main shaft No. 1 of the Kirovsk mining facility was modernised, and the first phase of the development of the production complex in Volkhov was completed, where a state-of-the-art facility for the production of mineral fertilizers is being built. Once the project is complete, the total capacity of the new lines at the production complex will reach almost 900 thousand tonnes, serving as a new foundation for PhosAgro’s long-term operational growth. In January 2021, a unique project was completed involving the retrofitting and upgrading of one of the main extraction shafts at the Kirovsky mine, main shaft No. 2, which will support further production growth.
PhosAgro set a sales record in the Company’s key market of Russia. Total supplies to Russian farmers increased by more than 12% to over 3.5 million tonnes, with PhosAgro products accounting for more than 80%, or 2.9 million tonnes. This was an increase of 8% from the year before. These results enabled PhosAgro to solidify its status as the undisputed leader in the Russian market in terms of total supply volume.
In the context of the fight against the novel coronavirus, PhosAgro stepped up its traditional support to the regions where it operates and to date has allocated over RUB 3.5 billion to implement preventive measures against COVID-19 and to support healthcare and the people hit hardest by the pandemic.
Held on 25 May 2021 in the form of absentee voting, the AGM decided to pay dividends in the amount of RUB 8.1585 billion at a rate of RUB 63 per share (or RUB 21 per GDR) from retained net profit as of 31 December 2020. The record date for receiving dividends was set as 7 June 2021.
Commenting on the results of the meeting, PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said, “the sense of responsibility and team spirit shown by the workforce of PhosAgro Group made it possible to maintain uninterrupted production during the pandemic and to continue implementing our investment projects. Our far-reaching Development Strategy to 2020 resulted in an expansion of the Company’s ability to generate free cash flow, a reliable foundation for financing corporate social responsibility projects and the investment plans outlined in our ambitious Strategy to 2025, as well as paying out stable dividends to the Company’s shareholders.”
No changes were made to the composition of PhosAgro’s Board of Directors during the AGM.
The shareholders meeting also elected PhosAgro’s Revision Commission, approved the Company’s annual financial statements for 2020 and approved a related-party transaction. In addition, the AGM also determined the procedure, terms and amount of remuneration and compensation for members of the Board of Directors. FBK was approved as PhosAgro’s RAS auditor for 2021.