Rusal 0486

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U.S. Extends Wind-Down Period for Rusal, En+ to Oct. 23

By Saleha Mohsin and Yuliya Fedorinova

Eases impact of sanctions targeting Russian oligarch Deripaska
U.S. Treasury decision stopped short of suspending sanctions

The U.S. Treasury Department gave investors more time to sell their shares and debt in En+ Group Plc and affiliate, United Co. Rusal but stopped short of removing the aluminum companies from a sanctions list aimed at Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska.

The move announced on Tuesday eases the impact of sanctions imposed on April 6 that targeted Deripaska, who has ties to the Kremlin. The sanctions initially disrupted the global supply chain for aluminum and sent prices soaring. By extending the wind-down period to Oct. 23 from Aug. 5, the U.S. gives Deripaska more time to implement a plan to cut his influence in the business.

Deripaska in April agreed to cut his stake in En+ to less than 50 percent and to appoint a majority of independent directors to the company’s board as part of a plan to persuade the U.S. to lift sanctions. Three months after announcing the plan, however, the company hasn’t publicly identified any potential independent directors, nor any buyer for Deripaska’s shares.

Treasury’s statement on Tuesday rebuffed a request from En+ and its lobbying firm Mercury LLC to temporarily withdraw the company and Rusal from the U.S. sanctions list, suggesting further negotiations are needed before taking such a step.

According to the Mercury’s filing to the U.S. Justice Department, which is dated July 12, En+ has identified potential new directors. It also suggests that Deripaska and his family members are planning to transfer shares to a trust in order to reduce his more than 66 percent stake to less than 50 percent.

Source: Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -to-oct-23

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US extends sanctions deadline a third time for EN+, Rusal and Gaz Group

by Henry Foy

On Tuesday, the Office for Foreign Assets Control (Ofac), which oversees US sanction policy, gave the companies until October 23 to find a solution.

Documents published last week showed that Mr Barker is seeking to transfer shares held by Mr Deripaska to an “approved organisation or trustees” and direct any financial benefits to an escrow account.

Source: Financial Times

https://www.ft.com/content/0c11840e-950 ... 205561c3fe

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U.S. Gives Rusal Investors More Time But Keeps Deripaska on Hook

By Yuliya Fedorinova and Saleha Mohsin

Treasury extends deadline for Rusal, En+ investors to sell out
En+’s plea to temporarily lift sanctions wasn’t granted

Three months after announcing the plan, however, the company hasn’t publicly identified any potential independent directors, nor any buyer for Deripaska’s shares.

It also suggests that Deripaska and his family members are planning to transfer shares to a trust to reduce his stake to less than 50 percent.

Source: Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -to-oct-23

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Another Gift for a Putin Buddy

By Seth Hettena

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Paul Manafort, then Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, tried to offer Mr. Deripaska private briefings about the campaign.

Suspicions that the oligarch has had links to organized crime have denied him a visa to enter the United States.

Mr. Deripaska’s spent more than $1 billion, through his holding company, on new infrastructure for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Lord Barker, the chairman of Mr. Deripaska’s holding company, hired a $108,500-a-month, Mercury Public Affairs, the firm Mr. Manafort paid $1.1 million to lobby members of Congress on behalf of Ukraine and led by David Vitter, a former Republican senator from Louisiana.

Source: New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/opin ... afort.html

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Deripaska Regards U.S. Sanctions Demands as Too Harsh

By Yuliya Fedorinova and Jack Farchy

U.S. Treasury has extended sanctions deadline to Oct. 23
En+’s plea to temporarily lift sanctions wasn’t granted

Oleg Deripaska sees U.S. demands for lifting sanctions on his businesses as unacceptable, complicating talks with the Treasury Department.

Deripaska believes the U.S. demands make no economic sense and are close to “enslavement”.

"If the agreement won’t be reached, the U.S. still may keep extending the license for Rusal clients to work with it,” said Kirill Chuyko, chief of research at BCS Global Markets in Moscow. “Otherwise, sanctions will hurt them rather than Deripaska."

Source: Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -too-harsh

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RUSAL To Keep Talking with U.S. OFAC

RUSAL (00486.HK) announced that the Company has been in continuous communication with OFAC trying to find a solution aimed at its delisting from the list of SDNs.

The Company is taking all available steps in order to seek to protect the interests of its shareholders, creditors, business partners and other stakeholders.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

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<Result Ann>RUSAL (00486.HK) 1H18 Profit Up 1x to US$950M, Nil Div

RUSAL (00486.HK) announced in interim results ended June 2018 that net profit was US$952 million, up 1.03 times yearly.

EPS equaled US6.27 cents.

No dividend was declared.

During the period, revenue grew 4.89% yearly to US$4.997 billion, while gross profit margin improved from 27% to 27.9%.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

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Rusal second-quarter profit surges vs year-ago earnings despite U.S. sanctions

Russian aluminium giant Rusal posted a second-quarter profit of $440 million on Monday amid higher market prices for the metal,

Recurring net profit at Hong Kong-listed Rusal was up 75 percent from a year ago, but down 17 percent from the first quarter of 2018.

Its net profit was bolstered by an 18 percent rise in the LME aluminium price over the period, while Rusal's aluminium and alloys sales fell 22 percent year-on-year to 783,000 tonnes.

Under the sanctions, U.S. customers have until Oct. 23 to wind down business with Rusal. As some orders can take up to two months to process and deliver to customers, particularly for value-added aluminium products, the sources said many customers will start to shun the company from August.

Source: Reuters

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rusal-se ... nance.html

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Rusal's Making Money But Stockpiling Metal as Sanctions Hit

By Yuliya Fedorinova and Martin Ritchie

Aluminum maker reports second-quarter profit of $218 million
Performance aided by higher aluminum prices after sanctions

Sales of value-added products, a key part of the business, fell in the quarter and inventories rose by more than $460 million since end of December.

That was mainly due to the sanctions, as well as higher power, transportation and raw-material costs.

Rusal produced 1.87 million metric tons of aluminum and alloys in the first half, but sold only 1.75 million tons. That’s down from 1.99 million tons of sales in the same period a year earlier. Sales of value-added products fell more than 8 percent year-on-year to 869,000 tons.

Rusal is looking for new markets and clients, as well as trying to ramp up domestic consumption, it said. Russia and former Soviet republics accounted for 29 percent of total sales in the first half, up from 24 percent a year earlier.

Source: Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... es-advance

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Russia's Rusal shuts down Nadvoitsky plant due to U.S. sanctions

Operations at the Nadvoitsky aluminum smelter in Russia’s Karelia region cannot continue as the plant lost access to its end market and to a steady supply of raw materials .

Production at the Nadvoitsky plant was completely oriented towards the U.S. market.

The plant has a workforce of 343 people and is the primary source of employment in the town of Nadvoitsy, which lies 485 km north of St Petersburg.

Source: Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1KR1SC