Press release
St Helier, Jersey
February 26, 2010
BLACK EARTH FARMING LTD 2009 YEAR END REPORT COVERING THE PERIOD JANUARY 1 - 31
DECEMBER, 2009
Highlights for the twelve months reporting period
Gross Commercial crop output increased by 21.5% from 437 thousand tons in 2008
to 531 thousand tons in 2009.
Sales volume for the period 1 January to 31 December 2009 amounted to 617,360
tons, compared to 117,066 tons in corresponding period last year, a 427%
increase.
Total revenue and gains from continuing operations rose 168% to RUR 2,283,432
thousand (USD* 75,500 thousand) compared with RUR 851,568 thousand (USD* 28,157
thousand) same period previous year. Result on revaluation of biological assets
and agricultural produce was negative in the amount of RUR 111,311 thousand
(USD* 3,680 thousand), compared to positive contribution of RUR 152,663 thousand
(USD* 5,048 thousand) in the same period last year. Average price received from
sales of crops in twelve months 2009 was 32.1% lower than same period last year.
Loss before income tax from continuing operations was RUR 1,305,904 thousand
(USD* 43,179 thousand) compared to a loss of RUR 737,880 thousand (USD* 24,397
thousand) last year.
Loss for the period was RUR 1,349,293 thousand (USD* 44,613 thousand) compared
to a loss of RUR 733,623 thousand (USD* 24,257 thousand) last year.
Basic loss per share from continuing and discontinued operations was RUR 10.83
(USD* 0.36) compared with a loss per share of RUR 5.91 (USD* 0.20) same period
last year.
Net cash inflow from operating activities was RUR 20,992 thousand (USD* 695
thousand) compared with an outflow of RUR -1,940,707 thousand (USD* -64,169
thousand) same period previous year.
Total controlled land increased from 317 to 330 thousand hectares in 2009, of
which land in registered ownership grew 127%, from 95 to 216 thousand hectares
as of 31 December 2009.
No dividend payment is proposed for the year
Significant events after the end of the reporting period
Mr. Alexei Bnatov has been recruited as new General Manager of the Russian
operating entity Agro-Invest, to become effective 1 March 2010. Mr. Bnatov has
most recently held the position of Vice President & General Manager for CIS with
the Russian subsidiary of Greif Inc.
The newly recruited sales team executed the Company's first ever export deal in
January 2010, with 35,000 tons of Barley.
* The USD equivalent figures are provided for information purposes only and do
not form part of the interim consolidated financial statements - refer to note 2
(c) in the complete interim report.
Twelve months report conference call
Date: Friday, 26 February 2010
Time: 15:00 CET
Hosts:
Black Earth Farming CEO - Sture Gustavsson
Group CFO and AgroInvest CEO - Michael Shneyderman
IR Director - Gustav Wetterling
Dial-in details:
UK: +44-20-7190-1596
USA: +1-480-629-9771
Sweden: +46-8-5052-0204
Conference ID: 4228715
Conference Title: Black Earth Farming 2009 Year End Report Conf Call
Please quote the Conference ID or Conference title to access the call.
If you experience any difficulty during the conference, please press *0 on your
phone to signal a
conference specialist.
Please call in 5 minutes before the conference starts and stay on the line (an
operator will be available to assist you)
See attached complete report.
For additional information, please contact:
Gustav Wetterling, IR Director, Black Earth Farming Ltd., tel: +44 207 117 81 00
Notes to Editor:
Black Earth Farming Ltd. is a leading farming company, publicly listed in
Stockholm and operating in Russia. It acquires, develops and farms agricultural
land assets primarily in the fertile Black Earth region in southwest Russia.
Black Earth Farming has gained a strong market position in the Kursk, Tambov,
Lipetsk, Samara, Voronezh and Ryazan areas, controlling some 330,000 hectares of
what perhaps is the world's most fertile soil.
In 2008 Black Earth Farming harvested 141,900 hectares and in 2009 it has
harvested over 183,000 hectares, effectively making it one of the world's
largest farming companies by planted area. The Company's main products are
wheat, barley, corn, sunflowers and rape seeds.
Corporate website: www.blackearthfarming.com
