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Aurora Russia Limited Results for the six months ended 30 June 2007 28 September 2007 Aurora Russia Limited (“Aurora Russia” or the “Company”), the AIM-quoted investment vehicle established to make equity or equity-related investments in small and mid-sized private companies in Russia, today announces its results for the six months ended 30 June 2007.
Operational highlights ● £40 million of its capital now committed (including an additional £10 million investment in Kreditmart, announced today, to fund further growth)
● All investments continue to perform strongly:
○ Unistream (£10.3 million investment, 26% owned), one of the leading Russian international money transfer companies - 2006 volumes were $1.84 billion - Monthly volumes transferred exceeded US$400 million for the first time in August - Second part of acquisition completed in July 2007 for £3.1 million - Plans to establish up to 550 money transfer cash desks over the next few years
○ Kreditmart (£22.9 million investment, 100% owned), the finance company distributing mortgages, equity release loans and other consumer finance products - First loan shop opened in Moscow in March 2007 followed by St. Petersburg in August 2007. Additional loan shops in Omsk, Novossibirsk, Rostov, and Ekaterinburg are scheduled to open within the next sixty days - Signed agreements with 18 banks to distribute mortgage products to its customers and currently offers over 400 loan products through its system
○ OSG Records Management (£5.2 million investment, 37.1% holding, loan £1.5m), the regional market leader in records management - Forecast to grow revenues for the current year at 30%
● Pipeline of potential investment opportunities continues to build. Financial highlights ● Net asset value as at 30 June 2007 £72.6 million, representing 96.8p per share (£71.7 million or 95.6p per share as at 30 June 2006)
● Cash and cash equivalents as at 30 June 2007 of £45.3 million (£71.2 million as at 30 June 2006)
● Consolidated net loss for the period of £205,000 (net profit of £173,000 from incorporation in February 2006 to 30 June 2006)
● Consolidated loss per share for the period 0.27p (earnings per share 0.23p from incorporation in February 2006 to 30 June 2006) Commenting, Sir Trevor Chinn, Chairman of Aurora Russia, said: “We are delighted with the developments to date and the continued growth of all three of our investee businesses. The Russian economy continues to be buoyant and is promoting increased demand for consumer goods and services. Given the strong pipeline of potential investments we are currently evaluating, we believe that we are well positioned to take advantage of this trend.” read more
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