Moscow – The Board of Directors of PhosAgro, one of the world's leading producers of phosphate-based fertilizers, met today and approved the Company's progress on implementing key investment projects under the strategy to 2025.
PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: "For the past 20 years – this year is PhosAgro's anniversary year – our Company has maintained its commitment to continuous modernisation of production facilities using the best available techniques. This has enabled us to strengthen our market position as the largest supplier of fertilizers to Russian farmers and a global leader in terms of cash cost of production.
“As a result of large-scale investment programmes, PhosAgro's fertilizer production has almost tripled in 20 years, from 3.4 million tonnes in 2001 to 10.1 million tonnes in 2020. We maintained this growth trajectory through the pandemic while implementing comprehensive preventative measures at our facilities: since the beginning of the year, we have managed to increase phosphate-based fertilizer production, helped by the modernisation of our phosphoric acid units. Output of our key DAP/MAP and NPK fertilizers rose by 9% and 7% in the first nine months of the year, respectively.
“We have made significant progress at the site that is the main focus for investments under the strategy to 2025 in Volkhov, where we are currently building a state-of-the-art fertilizer production complex.
“The first two production lines with a combined capacity of more than 800 thousand tonnes of MAP were commissioned in March and June 2021, with new sulphuric acid production facilities and a heat recapture power generation plant expected to be commissioned before the end of the year. Once the project is fully completed, the expected total capacity of the new units at the production site will reach almost 900 thousand tonnes, which will ensure the long-term growth of PhosAgro’s operational performance.
“This year the company will invest RUB 46.5 billion (including maintenance), and in the next five years more than RUB 250 billion will be invested. We will continue to invest in the Company’s development and the implementation of important social programmes to support local communities, for which we annually allocate around RUB 4 billion.”
At its meeting the Board of Directors elected a new Management Board and gave consent for members of the Management Board to hold positions in the management bodies of other organisations. The new Management Board consists of Andrey Guryev, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board; Siroj Loikov, First Deputy CEO; Sergey Pronin, First Deputy CEO; Mikhail Rybnikov, Executive Director; Alexei Sirotenko, Deputy CEO for Corporate and Legal Affairs; Alexander Sharabaika, Deputy CEO for Finance and International Projects; Alexander Seleznev Chief of Staff for the CEO of PhosAgro.
The Board of Directors considered information from the Chairs of the Company's Board Committees regarding their work in the third quarter of 2021, set the cost for services of the Company's RAS auditor, and approved the terms of an agreement between PJSC PhosAgro and AO Registrar for maintaining and storing the Company's shareholder register.
In addition, PhosAgro's Board of Directors has recommended that the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (the “EGM”) approve payment of a dividend of RUB 30,303 billion, or RUB 234 per ordinary share (RUB 78 per GDR) from retained earnings as at 30 September 2021.
This recommendation was made after reviewing information on the Company's financial and economic performance for the first nine months of 2021, including the Company’s consolidated interim IFRS financial statements, which will be published on 8 November 2021. The EGM will consider the dividend recommendation by in absentia voting on 8 December 2021. The Board of Directors recommended 20 December 2021 be set as the dividend record date.
The Board of Directors also recognised the compliance of its Independent Directors with the independence criteria set out in the Regulations on the Board of Directors of PJSC PhosAgro, the Corporate Governance Code recommended for use by joint stock companies by the Bank of Russia, and the Listing Rules of PJSC Moscow Exchange.
The Board of Directors took note of information on occupational health and safety performance of PhosAgro and its subsidiaries, the results of monitoring the Company's key risk management in the third quarter of 2021, the organisation of the assessment of the Company's Board of Directors, and the results of the assessment of compliance of the Company's goals, values and strategy with its corporate culture and the results of assessment and monitoring of corporate culture.