2019 Annual General Meeting

In the midst of our twentieth anniversary year, Rusneftegaz convened our Annual General Meeting on 5 April following the publication of our 2018 consolidated financial statements, which were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and have been audited to the relevant standard. At the event, which was held in Moscow, all proposed resolutions were successfully passed as per the request of our executive leadership. This included motions to re-elect all members of the board of directors, to reappoint our current independent auditor and approve our annual report. Additionally, it was also agreed to maintain the current composition of our audit committee, and to pay no dividends for the financial year. This is primarily to ensure that all our funds earned can be reinvested in relevant projects, that will provide strong prospects for the future growth of our organization, which was mutually determined between our leaders and all associated stakeholders.

In summary, we are pleased to report on an excellent performance for the 2018 financial year, with significant increases in revenue and gross profits. Our business is in commendable financial health, holding more cash and assets than ever before, with the intention of massively expanding over the course of the next five years. We have also increased sales to our largest customers, in spite of falls in production rates on a year-on-year basis, citing reliable and consistent output and service. Principally, Rusneftegaz recorded a pre-tax profit of $230,5 million, up from $223,4 million, with earnings per share generated during the year rising from $175 to $179. Thus, our organization has utilized its earned funds, alongside considerable private investment, to invest $165,5 million in continually improving and raising the quality of its production in all areas.

In 2018, Rusneftegaz can report a meaningful 7,0% uplift in revenues compared to 2017, from $502,3 million to $537,8 million, with revenue per share uplifting correspondingly from $502 to $538. This can mostly be attributed to a 14,1% increase in revenue from electricity production, from $296,4 million to $338,2 million, offsetting a 3,0% fall in oil revenues, which fell from $206,0 million to $199,2 million. The profit recorded by our fossil fuel sector saw a marginal downturn during the period of 3,0%, from $89,8 million to $78,4 million. We have no short or long-term concerns about our oil business, due to the fact that our management deliberately cut production from wells during the year in order to preserve supply in future years. Thus, our oil production declined to 4,76 million barrels in 2018, from 6,16 million barrels in 2017, or a decrease of 22,8%. Equally, this could also be considered as a fall from an average production rate of 17.789 barrels per day (bpd) to 13.401 bpd.

On the other hand, there was also a decline in our electricity production during the period from 10,45 TWh to 10,27 TWh, a fall of 1,7%, or the equivalent of a decline in installed electrical capacity utilization from 64,1% to 63,0%. Nonetheless, we managed to increase the profit of our segment by 14,1% year-on-year from $143,3 million to $164,4 million. This is mostly due to an amendment in the price per MWh of our main electricity production contract, which counterbalanced the overall declines in both electricity productions rates and the value of the ruble. This monetary devaluation was one of the major depressing factors for us in the past year. Overall, the value of our assets retracted by $34,8 million during the year as a result of currency translations, the first such loss since 2015. Nonetheless, the overall worth of our total assets rose extensively during the period by 13,4%, from $1,26 billion in 2017 to $1,43 billion.

The majority of this base consists of property, plant and equipment of $1,22 billion, in which Rusneftegaz made large financial investments to cause a rise of 6,3% from $1,15 billion in 2017, and has also spent a further $2,9 million on equipment that will be delivered in 2019. Of the expenditure on new assets, a total of $148,6 million was spent on completing the refurbishments to our electricity infrastructure in Vologda Oblast, and $14,8 million was consumed on upgrading and replacing our oil production assets, both representing a reduction of 23,8% and 7,0% respectively year-on-year. Both falls were foreseen by our management, as investments in both sectors over the past few years have resulted in us having high-quality assets that require less maintenance, and it is projected that the none of our power infrastructure will require a radical overhaul for at least ten years.

Moreover, our electricity division accounts for $922,3 million, or 64,3%, of our $1,43 billion asset total, with $478,5 million of the remaining assets, or 33,4%, being realized through our oil production. Since the end of last year, the total value of our electricity generation has climbed by 18,2% from $780,6 million, and the net worth of our petroleum production increased from $448,6 million, or 6,7%. Accordingly, the increase in the book value of our assets led to the reported loss from depreciation and depletion rising by 7,8% from $53,1 million to $57,4 million, with $41,5 million being attributed to our power sector, compared to $14,7 million for our fossil fuel segment. On the other hand, there were greater oil losses from impairment at $1,7 million, as opposed to our electricity sector which only suffered write-offs of $0,2 million. The combined amount of impairment accumulated during 2018 grew 17,3%, from $1,6 million to $1,9 million, although external revaluations culminated in a $3,7 million increase in the value of our assets, whereas in 2017 said assessments were responsible for a more significant increase of $5,4 million.

It is foreseen that once again in 2019, the growth of our electricity division will exceed that of our petroleum division, with Rusneftegaz set to pledge the majority of our future resources to expanding our production capacity incontrovertibly in the immediate future. It should also be noted that during the year, Rusneftegaz listed $0,6 million of equipment for sale, resulting in an inflation of assets held for sale by 10,6% from $5,5 million to $6,1 million. The main constituent of our assets held for sale is bullion, with gold and silver reserves being held in an undisclosed location on a contingency basis. Such resources are accounted for on a technical basis as a current asset, despite our management having no plans to sell any precious metals in 2019. The other of our fixed assets that have been reported are intangibles and derivative financial instruments, with the value of the latter rising by 17,0% during the period and being reported as a component of other income. 

On the other hand, the value of our intangible assets fell by 5,5% during the period as a result of currency conversions, from a figure of $0,2 million in 2017. The weakness of the ruble also contributed to a foreign exchange loss of $28,0 million, an increase of 179,5% from the prior year when the loss was only $10,0 million. Alongside the currency loss, Rusneftegaz can also report in our statement of profit and loss a net financial income of $0,6 million from interest accrued, a rise of 11,1% from $0,5 million. Moreover, during the year operating expenses also declined by 28,4%, the constituents of which include transport and transmission costs. The total charge for trucking crude oil from wells fell 40,0% from $7,5 million to $4,5 million, whereas the outlay to deliver thermal power and electricity rose 13,4% from $2,0 million to $2,3 million. There was also inflation in the value of our general and administrative expenses during 2018 by 11,9%, mostly due to an increase in executive pay.

The sum of remuneration for our office-based roles equated to $5,8 million last year, a 3,0% rise from $5,6 million the previous year, with $3,2 million being paid to directors in 2018 compared to $3,1 million in 2017. Other components reported as part of our administrative costs include legal fees, which increased by 19,3% from $2,8 million to $3,3 million, and a 30,0% rise in insurance payments to $0,2 million. In our accounting, maintenance and repair costs are partially divided into both general and administrative expenses and as a cost of goods sold, depending on where the funds are spent. For example, maintenance as an administrative cost includes office cleaning and computer repairs, whilst as a component of cost of goods sold covers the preservation of our production assets. The outlay on administrative maintenance and repairs fell 41,0% last year, although the expenditure on technical maintenance and repairs elevated by 25,0% from $7,2 million to $9,1 million. 

The value of our maintenance costs is overshadowed in the cost of goods sold by the substantial amount spent on fuel and staffing, with a total of $93,9 million spent on coal and $39,2 million on labor. Predominantly during the course of the period, wages and affiliated costs increased by 4,0% from $37,4 million in 2017, although coal expenditure declined 2,1% from $95,9 million. Such a fall can mostly be ascribed to a downturn in our production rates, with the decline in petroleum extraction being correlated with a 1,3% fall in the expense of renting equipment from external parties. But in spite of this, water payments associated with our electricity production rose from $2,5 million to $2,6 million, representing an increase of 6,3%. The third-largest element of our reported costs of goods sold is the mineral extraction tax, a levy paid per metric ton of petroleum extracted from a licensed area, and in 2018 the total amount paid was $57,4 million. 

This represents an 8,0% rise from the $53,1 million paid in oil tariffs in 2017, which can be attributed to currency translation differences, despite a fall in the amount produced. Rusneftegaz currently pays more in extraction taxes than income taxes, with our organization due to pay $51,3 million for the profits earned last year, and settled a tax balance of $48,1 million for earnings the year before. Likewise, tax payments that are not income tax but accounted for as a part of costs of goods sold, rose 96,2% from $4,9 million to $9,6 million, but we did not pay any export duties for a second consecutive year due to the fact that no foreign sales were made in 2018. We have continued our current policy of favoring domestic sales in the Russian Federation instead of international sales, but decisions are routinely made on a case-by-case basis, with the potential onus of customs factored into such a decision.

The consistent year-on-year increases in the amount of tax we pay, whilst a negative for our organization, is a testament to the exemplary performance of our company in all areas, although Rusneftegaz has mitigated some of our immediate tax burdens. It can therefore be reported in our consolidated financial statements that our company has deferred tax liabilities of $24,4 million, offset by deferred tax assets of $0,2 million, with both figures rising from the year prior. In 2017, the figure for tax liabilities amounted to $20,7 million, with tax assets totaling $0,2 million, corresponding with 17,8% and 5,5% rises respectively. The rise in the value of our deferred tax liabilities is generally an outlier in the broader context of our reported obligations, with all debts falling considerably throughout the year. Notably, Rusneftegaz had no loan obligations for over a year for the first time since our organization was formed, and is currently free of all long-term debt. 

Additionally, the value of all our payables has receded markedly during 2018, with the sum of our accounts payable now totaling $33,0 million, down 47,4% from $63,0 million, and the aggregate of our tax payable having decreased by 15,0% from $8,4 million to $7,2 million. The total quantity of our liabilities recorded overall is $91,3 million, compared to $119,6 million in 2017, a contraction of 23,7%, with our non-current liabilities comprising mostly of provisions. The appraisal for the future charge of decommissioning oil fields under the terms of the license granted is a total of $26,8 million, which as a result of currency fluctuations is down 2,5% year-on-year from $28,9 million. However, this figure is subject to an annual review, and may fluctuate before oil production at our sites ceases. The reduction in the extent of liabilities has consequently caused a growth in our current assets, with an eminent 60,9% inflation in our receivables, from $20,5 million in 2017 to $33,0 million. 

There was, however, a marginal decline in the amount of inventory we accumulated during the period by 2,2%, the majority of which consists of unrefined crude oil awaiting transportation. This is in addition to fuel, principally coal, for deployment at our power stations. In 2017, our inventory equated to $24,5 million, consisting of amongst other products, $8,1 million of crude oil and $10,1 million of fuel. But by 2018, the overall value had decreased by 2,2% to $24,0 million, including $9,1 million of unrefined petroleum and $9,3 million of mostly bituminous coal. The total value of our non-fixed assets at the end of the financial year was $210,6 million, rising by 85,8% from $113,4 million in 2017. The largest component of this, equating to a total of $147,6 million, was our liquid cash balances, more than doubling from the year before. 

In total, our cash position grew 134,8% from $62,8 million on 31 December 2017, in part due to a cash injection by our ownership of $50,0 million in January 2017 to fund additional investments. By the end of the year, our organization made a net improvement in our monetary position by $112,2 million before translation differences, with the largest constituent being the $225,7 million we earned through cash flows from operations, the equivalent of a cash flow per share of $226, which is a rise from $214 in 2017. Differences in currency translation accounted for a reduction of $27,5 million in the value of our reported cash reserves, whereas in 2017 said devaluation was only $16,5 million. On the other hand, Rusneftegaz expects our cash flow to improve again in 2019, but also forecasts that the amount of liquid cash available will reduce as a result of the expansion plan currently underway, with projections for high revenues and profits coming from new, overseas investments.

​Rusneftegaz does not plan to pay a dividend for our performance in 2018, signaling that retained earnings for the year will rise by 12,4% from $1,45 billion to $1,63 billion. Alongside forecasting strong economic growth in 2019, the board of directors is currently implementing a long-term strategic plan to expand our energy production operation beyond the Russian Federation into developing markets, which should sustainably ascend revenues and profits in the near future. The aforementioned plan will involve us purchasing competitively priced power stations in foreign jurisdictions, renovating the plant to a high standard and producing electricity profitably. The renovations will cut emissions to appease local interests, whilst switching generation assets to low-cost alternative fuels. The plan is expected to elevate our organization into the upper echelons of the Russian energy market, ensuring our status both domestically and internationally.