2016 Financial Statements

Rusneftegaz has elected to publish its full consolidated financial statements for 2016. These results were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, otherwise known as IFRS, and have been audited by Deloitte. Foremost, the directors can report a positive financial performance for the year. A synopsis of which is as follows:
 

• An increase of $9.2m in revenues from electricity generation as a result of upgrades and improvements made in the current and previous years, leading to an additional $22.3m of profit.
• These improvements and the worldwide fall in oil prices have led to a significant $30.3m reduction in electricity generation costs, notably incorporating a $15.6m reduction in fuel expenses.
• At the beginning of the year, Rusneftegaz negotiated a loan of $250.0m to acquire and renew assets. In total, the Group invested $274.5m during 2016, including $20.0m on oil and gas equipment.
• Further investments have been made into electricity infrastructure, with the purchase of new equipment to extend the life of the Group's generation capacity by at least another five years.
• Oil production increased from 16 713 bpd to 17 474 bpd, and costs reported declined by $6.9m, although this could not prevent a $47.9m fall in profits from that sector.

 
Rusneftegaz can report that revenue has increased by 2.3% in the 2016 financial year to $441.0m, compared to $431.2m in 2015. This was primarily due to a 19.9% rise in revenue from electricity generation, a result of the cumulative $287.2m investment in production infrastructure during the past two years. However, the uplift in earnings from the electricity segment was offset by falls in revenue from the oil and gas segments, which declined 18.5% year-on-year from $197.7m to $161.1m as a result of falling oil prices.
 
The total reported profit for the period increased 12.1% from $183.1m to $205.4m with 44.0%, or $78.5m, deriving from oil and gas production and the remaining 61.6%, or $110.0m, originating from electricity generation. The total costs incurred by the petroleum segment through the course of business amounted to $82.6m, compared to $169.9m recognised by the electricity production division. The other $10.0m of costs reported are attributed to head office expenses. Overall, total costs are calculated as the sum of costs of sales, general and administrative expenses, operating expenses and any foreign exchange losses. Over the year, Rusneftegaz made a net gain of $0.5m from accumulated interest and a further $129 thousand from derivative financial instruments.
 
In the last financial year, 2.5% of income was derived from sales outside Russia, compared to 5.7% the year before, and as a result of this, total export duties paid declined 71.0% from $8.0m to $2.3m. As such, there was also a corresponding decrease in transport expenses from $8.2m to $6.2m. Such falls were also factors in the decline in reported operating expenses, which reduced by 42.8% from $17.9m to $10.6m. Moreover, Rusneftegaz acknowledges a 3.0% rise in general and administrative expenses from $9.0m to $9.3m due to marginal increases in salaries paid, professional fees and insurance costs in 2016. On the other hand, similar decreases can also be noted for the cost of labour during the period, reported as a component of the cost of sales, from $38.7m to $38.1m.
 
The overall amount classified as the costs of goods sold during the period fell from $248.1m in 2015 to $235.6m in 2016. This was primarily due to a 13.6% decline in fuel expenses, attributable to the worldwide deflation in oil prices. This reduction has also had an indirect effect on the Group's mineral extraction tax payments, after the Russian Government announced exemptions in 2015 which have remained in place during the 2016 financial year. As a result, payments have fallen 22.6% from $28.2m to $21.8m, despite oil production increasing during the period from 16 713 barrels per day (bpd) to 17 474 bpd, largely because of the $33.2m investment in equipment during 2015.
 
Likewise, the escalation in oil production was also a contributing factor to the increase in depreciation, depletion and amortisation recorded in the last financial year, which rose from $42.6m in 2015 to $45.7m. Of the reported figure, $16.0m is attributable to the depletion of oil stocks, a decrease of 4.6% from $16.7m, and the remaining $28.9m is the deprecation of assets, a rise of 8.8% from $26.6m the year before. In both years, no assets were considered amortisable. The inflated figure reported for depletion was due to the previously acknowledged upturn in oil production, whereas the rise in recognised depreciation was a result of capital spending in 2015, culminating in a greater value of assets to be depreciated.
 
Capital expenditure during 2016 totalled $274.5m, an increase of 214.9% from the previous year when such expenditures amounted to $87.2m. Of this total, $254.1m was spent on electricity generation equipment and $20.0m on oil and gas infrastructure. This is compared to spending of $33.2m on electricity generation property and $53.8m on oil and gas assets in 2015. Aggregated with currency translation differences, this has resulted in a 68.3% increase in property, plant and equipment reported in the financial statements, from $586.8m in 2015 to $987.7m in 2016, after all reportable factors were accounted for.
 
At the end of the financial year, the Group held $96.4m of current assets, including $15.5m of inventories, $10.2m of receivables and $5.5m of assets-held-for-sale. This is compared to $106.7m in the previous financial year, composed of $7.5m of inventories, $11.4m of receivables and $5.0m of assets-held-for-sale. To continue, Rusneftegaz also reports in the financial statements total cash and cash equivalents of $65.3m, down from $82.8m on 31 December 2015. During the financial year, the Group achieved a total cash flow from operating activities of $227.9m, an increase of 74.2% from $130.8m the year before.
 
In January 2016, Rusneftegaz received an interest-free loan of $250.0m, repayable within one year, and on the 31 December 2016 reported an outstanding liability of $20.8m. The Group's other current liabilities, including all payables, increased 103.5% from $52.8m to $107.5m with non-current liabilities also rising 33.9% from $34.2m to $45.8m. The inflation in liabilities from provisions can be attributed to exchange rate differences, and deferred tax liabilities rose due to expenditure on assets during the previous financial year.
 
Rusneftegaz accumulated a total income tax bill of $38.6m for the profits earned during the period, compared to $32.7m in the previous year, and also paid other taxes of $4.9m. These are classified as taxes that are not income tax, mineral extraction tax or export duty, and said payments fell from $4.2m in 2016. The income tax rate charged remained at 20% during 2016 and is not expected to change in the next financial year. However, this comparatively corresponds with 8.7% of revenues earned, up from 7.6% in the prior period, mostly due to differences in reporting between IFRS and tax laws. Because of this, the Group recognises deferred tax assets of $172 thousand and deferred tax liabilities of $18.9m in lieu of the disparities between depreciation reported in the consolidated financial statements and in tax returns. Similarly, $805 thousand of deferred tax assets were reported in the previous financial year, with deferred tax liabilities of $10.8m.
 
Rusneftegaz has forecasted that in 2017 that revenues from electricity production will rise further as a result of investments made during previous years. Likewise, earnings from oil and gas production are also projected to increase in line with both predicted commodity price rises and investments made during the last two years. However, volatility in commodity prices means there is a degree of uncertainty in such projections. The Group also intends to continue its current policy of reinvesting any earnings into useful assets whilst maintaining sufficient levels of cash, as current projections suggest that such actions result in higher profits in future years. To continue, Rusneftegaz will also continue to focus its investments on increasing electricity production and adequately maintaining all petroleum assets, due to the continuing volatility in commodity markets and the political actions against both the Russian Federation and the oil and gas industry.

The Group foresees the majority of its future growth deriving from electricity production, and in the longer term intends to continue its expansion both in the Russian Federation and overseas. Furthermore, the company maintains its desire to be able to use its own technical expertise to produce power equipment by 2025, as the acquisition of new equipment is currently the largest cash outflow reported in the consolidated financial statements. Rusneftegaz also maintains its desire to be one of the five largest energy companies in Russia by revenue within as short time frame as reasonably achievable.