TIDMPOG
RNS Number : 1442S
Petropavlovsk PLC
12 July 2022
12 July 2022
Petropavlovsk PLC
Notice of Application for an Administration Order
Petropavlovsk PLC ("Petropavlovsk" or the "Company" and,
together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") announces that its
board of directors (the "Board"), having taken advice, has resolved
to file with the court an application for an administration order
appointing Allister Manson, Trevor Binyon and Jo Rolls of Opus
Business Advisory Group as administrators of the Company.
The Board will seek a hearing of the administration application
at the High Court in London in the coming days. There will be a
further announcement when the date of the hearing is known.
In light of the above, the Company has requested a suspension
from listing of the Company's ordinary shares from the premium
listing segment of the Official List and of the guaranteed
convertible 8.25% bonds due 2024 issued by Petropavlovsk 2010 (the
"Convertible Bonds") from the Official List, and a suspension of
trading on the London Stock Exchange. A request is also proposed to
be made for the cessation of trading of ordinary shares on the
Moscow Exchange in due course and for the suspension of trading of
the US$500 million 8.125% guaranteed notes 2022 issued by
Petropavlovsk 2016 Limited the "Notes") from the Irish Global
Exchange Market.
As announced on 20 April 2022, Gazprombank ("GPB") demanded
immediate repayment of approximately US$201.0m (including accrued
interest) due under the Company's Committed Term Facility Agreement
(the "Term Loan") with GPB, and subsequently assigned all its
rights under the term loan to Joint Stock Company UMMC-INVEST. The
Company is unable to repay the Term Loan at the present time and,
for a number of reasons (including the difficulties previously
announced), the Board considers it very unlikely that it will be
able to refinance the Term Loan in the short term and has to date
been unable to do so. The Board is also mindful of the Group's
obligations to the holders of the Notes and the Convertible Bonds
(in respect of which US$304 million and US$33 million,
respectively, remains outstanding).
As previously announced, the Company engaged advisers to assist
the Board in exploring a sale of the Company's entire interests in
its operating subsidiaries. The Company has received an offer from
one party to acquire and a proposal from another party expressing
an interest in the acquisition of those subsidiaries. Discussions
with both parties are ongoing. There can be no certainty that
either will result in a sale and it is highly unlikely that there
will be any return to shareholders given the level of the Group's
indebtedness.
The evidence to be filed with the High Court includes the
following statements:
Having consulted with Mr Stanislav Ploshchenko, the Group's
Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), and to the best of my knowledge,
information and belief, as at 30 June 2022, the Company had assets
(listed at book value) amounting to approximately US$1,619 million;
liabilities (including contingent and prospective liabilities) of
US$1,703 million; and net liabilities of US$84 million. Meanwhile,
the Group had assets (listed at book value) amounting to
approximately US$1,675 million; liabilities (including contingent
and prospective liabilities) of US$1,002 million; and net assets of
US$673 million, all as at the end of May 2022. I am not aware of
any material changes in assets or liabilities since that date.
These figures are management estimates and have not been audited
or independently reviewed. The information about assets and
liabilities represents the Company's standalone (not consolidated)
estimated position.
This announcement contains inside information.
About Petropavlovsk
Petropavlovsk PLC (LSE: POG. MOEX: POGR) is a major integrated
Russian gold producer with JORC Resources of 19.50Moz Au which
include Reserves of 7.16Moz Au. Following its IPO on the
Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2002, Petropavlovsk was
promoted to the London Stock Exchange in 2009, where today it is a
Premium Listed company. The Company's shares also trade on the
Moscow Exchange and are a constituent of the RTS Index and MOEX
Index.
The Company's key operating mines (Pioneer, Malomir and Albyn)
and its Pokrovskiy Pressure Oxidation (POX) Hub, are located in the
Amur Region in the Russian Far East. Petropavlovsk has produced a
total of c.8.6Moz of gold since operations began in 1994 and has a
strong track record of mine development, expansion, and asset
optimisation.
Petropavlovsk is one of the region's largest employers and one
of the largest contributors to the sustainable development of the
local economy.
For more information
Please visit www.petropavlovskplc.com or contact:
Petropavlovsk PLC +44 (0) 20 7201 8900
John Mann / Max Zaltsman TeamIR@petropavlovskplc.com
Cautionary note on forward-looking statements
This release may include statements that are, or may be deemed
to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking
statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "plans",
"projects", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will" or
"should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or
comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans,
objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward
looking statements include all matters that are not historical
facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this release
and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the
Group's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning,
among other things, the future price of gold, the Group's results
of operations, financial position, liquidity, prospects, growth,
estimation of mineral reserves and resources and strategies, and
exchange rates and the expectations of the industry. By their
nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty
because they relate to future events and circumstances [outside the
control of the Group. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees
of future performance and the development of the markets and the
industry in which the Group operates may differ materially from
those described in, or suggested by, any forward- looking
statements contained in this release. In addition, even if the
development of the markets and the industry in which the Group
operates are consistent with the forward looking statements
contained in this release, those developments may not be indicative
of developments in subsequent periods. A number of factors could
cause results and/or developments to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements including,
without limitation, general economic and business conditions,
demand, supply and prices for gold and other long-term commodity
price assumptions (and their effect on the timing and feasibility
of future projects and developments), trends in the gold mining
industry and conditions of the international gold markets,
competition, actions and activities of governmental authorities
(including changes in laws, regulations or taxation), currency
fluctuations (including as between the US Dollar and Rouble), the
Group's ability to recover its reserves or develop new reserves,
changes in its business strategy, any litigation, and political and
economic uncertainty. Except as required by applicable law, rule or
regulation (including the Listing and Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules), the Group does not undertake any obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Past
performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance.
The content of websites referred to in this announcement does not
form part of this announcement.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
MSCGLGDRLXBDGDD
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 12, 2022 02:42 ET (06:42 GMT)
Petropavlovsk (LSE:POG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Nov 2024 to Dec 2024
Petropavlovsk (LSE:POG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Dec 2023 to Dec 2024
