Type Public Industry Chemical Products Potash fertilizers Revenue 3.12 billion USD (2015) | Traded as MCX: URKA Founded 1934 Headquarters Berezniki, Russia | |
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Key people Sergey Chemezov (Chairman)
Dmitry Osipov (CEO) Stock price URKA (MCX) RUB 163.10 -0.50 (-0.31%)31 Mar, 6:49 PM GMT+3 - Disclaimer CEO Dmitry Vasilevich Osipov (24 Dec 2013–) Founder Supreme Soviet of the National Economy | ||
Price war to follow as russia s uralkali quits potash cartel economy
Uralkali is a Russian potash fertilizer producer and exporter. It is traded on the Moscow Exchange using the symbol, URKA. The Company’s assets consist of 5 mines and 7 ore-treatment mills situated in the towns of Berezniki and Solikamsk (Perm Territory, Russian Federation). Uralkali employs ca.11,000 people (in the main production unit).
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The company produces standard and granular potassium chloride (KCl) and supplies it (through its own trader Uralkali Trading) to over 60 countries, with the major markets including Brazil, India, China, Southeast Asia, Russia, USA, and Europe. In 2015 Uralkali produced 11.4 million tonnes of potash (KCl)
Uralkali develops Verkhnekamskoye field of potassium and magnesium salts, world's second largest in terms of potash ore reserves. The Company’s total ore reserves total approximately 8.2 billion tonnes. Uralkali holds the development licences for the Ust-Yayvinsky and Polovodovsky blocks at the Verkhnekamskoye field, which contain ore reserves of 1.291 and 3.074 billion tonnes respectively. Uralkali also holds the development licence for the Romanovsky Block of the Verkhnekamskoye deposit with the estimated reserves of 385 million tonnes of sylvinite ore.
As of 5 October 2016, Uralkali's shareholder structure is as follows: 5.61% free float, 20.00% Rinsoco Trading Co. Limited, 19.99% UralChem, 54.40% Quasi-treasury shares.
History
In 1926, the USSR State Planning Committee Presidium approved a resolution to develop the Soviet potash industry around Solikamsk, Perm Territory, and its adjacent fields. In 1934 the First Potash Mining Complex was launched in Solikamsk, later followed by another two mine and plants in Solikamsk and fours mines and plant in Berezniki. The Soyuzkali Group was renamed as Uralkali in 1964.
Uralkali became a joint stock company in 1992 encompassing production facilities in Berezniki, while production facilities in Solikamsk formed OJSC Silvinit. The major shareholding of Uralkali was accumulated by Dmitry Rybolovlev. In summer 2010, Rybolovlev sold his stake in Uralkali to investment vehicles, which were beneficially owned by Suleiman Kerimov, the metals tycoon, Alexander Nesis, another metals tycoon, and Filaret Galchev, a cement magnate, respectively.
Recent news
In December 2010, Uralkali announced plans to buy another Russian potash producer Silvinit; together they would form one of the world's largest potash producers. The merger was finalized in June 2011, with the combined Uralkali accounting for about 20% of the world's potash production.
On 9 November 2012, Chengdong Investment Corp. (СIC), a unit of the sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation, bought bonds from the shareholders with maturation in 2014 which were exchangeable into a stake in Uralkali. CIC would be able to convert its investment into a 12.5 percent stake in Uralkali’s ordinary shares. In September 2013, the bonds were converted and CIC thus acquired a 12.5% stake in the firm, rumoured to be worth around $2 billion.
In June 2012, Green Patrol, a Russian environmental NGO, listed Uralkali as one of the top 100 polluters in Russia, based on information gathered during the previous years. An expedition organised into the Perm Krai by the same NGO in 2010 revealed that Uralkali's sinks contained at least 16 harmful elements (including zinc and ammonium), exceeding the maximum permissible levels by 1,850 times. Furthermore, according to Green Patrol's President Roman Pukalov, Uralkali failed to fully disclose a complete list of harmful elements that it routinely rejected into the local river Kama. Roman Pukalov described Kama water as "very polluted", and declared that small rivers around Berezniki had in fact turned into brine, something he had "never seen anywhere else".
On 30 July 2013 Uralkali announced that it was pulling out of the Belarus Potash Corporation export JV with Belaruskali, through which it exported potash from 2005 to July 2013, and said it would sell the fertilizer on its own. This move sent shares of potash companies tumbling on speculation that potash prices would plunge. This dispute arose over foreign sales and top executives at Uralkali were accused of a criminal scheme. On 26 August Belarus detained the company's then-CEO Vladislav Baumgertner after inviting him to Minsk for talks. In September 2013 he was moved from solitary confinement and put under house arrest. Uralkali insists that persecution of its employees by Belarusian officials is politically motivated. On 14 October Russia opened a criminal investigation into Vladislav Baumgertner as well, and investigators announced they will request his extradition from Belarus. In November 2013 Vladislav Baumgertner was extradited to Russia and later put under house arrest. In September 2014 he was released on bail.
In December 2013 Suleiman Kerimov sold his shares (21.75%) to ONEXIM Group, while Uralchem acquired 19.99%, both becoming key shareholders in Uralkali.
In November 2015, Uralkali's board approved its latest share buyback program, a move that was expected to result in the delisting of the company's stock in London. Uralkali, which also trades in Moscow, said it will repurchase as much as 6.5 percent of its shares from the open market by the end of March 2016.
On 5 October 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an order asking the General Attorney of the Federation of Russia Yury Chaika to verify the compliance of Uralkali with the legislation governing planning works and mines filling. Results were to be presented on 1 December 2016, but as of end January 2017 the outcome of the investigation has not been published yet.