Moscow – The Board of Directors of PhosAgro (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, at today’s meeting approved the company’s priority areas for 2020 and has recommended that the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (“EGM”) approve a dividend payment of RUB 6.216 billion, or RUB 48 per ordinary share (RUB 16 per Global Depositary Receipt) from retained earnings as of 31 December 2018.
The Board of Directors made this recommendation after reviewing the Company’s financial and operating performance for the first nine months of 2019, including the Company’s interim consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”), which are scheduled to be published on 25 November 2019.
The Board of Directors heard a report on the results of the implementation of PhosAgro’s development priorities in 2019 and approved development priorities for 2020. These priorities stipulate the implementation of PhosAgro’s key investment projects and ensure a further increase in the production output of environmentally friendly plant nutrition systems that are in demand on PhosAgro’s priority domestic Russian market and 100 countries around the world, as well as further strengthening the company’s competitive advantages.
PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: “Improving operational efficiency and reducing production costs through the use of the best available techniques will remain among our top development priorities. This will enable PhosAgro to secure its position as one of the world’s most efficient producers of mineral fertilizers.
“The implementation of the Company’s development strategy until 2025, which calls for around USD 3 billion of investments in the development and modernisation of production facilities, will ensure the further sustainable expansion of PhosAgro’s cash flow generation, as well as its ability to pay considerable dividends and to implement social and charitable programs in the field of sustainable development.”
The Board of Directors also approved a new version of the Company’s personnel management policy, which introduces additional guarantees in the fields of human rights, non-discrimination, and child and forced labour. A public statement on the Company’s transparency regarding the UK Modern Slavery Act has likewise been approved.
The meeting heard a report on the monitoring of the Company’s key risks and took note of information regarding the establishment of a mechanism to evaluate the work of the Board of Directors.
In addition, the Board of Directors reviewed information provided by the chairs of the committees of the Board regarding their work during Q3 2019. Irina Bokova, Chair of the Committee for Sustainable Development, who was the director-general of UNESCO from 2009 to 2017, noted the progress made towards integrating the principles of sustainable development into the Company’s activities.
“The Company is consistently moving towards the implementation of a systematic approach based on the principles of sustainable development. The PhosAgro development strategy to 2025 takes into account the most significant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the next five years, and their implementation is monitored by the Committee under my leadership.
“It is clear that the Sustainable Development Goals are global in nature and relevant for all states, citizens, public institutions and businesses. It is also clear that they are on the minds of investors and consumers of our products. Being fully aware of this, PhosAgro wholeheartedly supports the principles of sustainable development and is an active participant in the UN Global Compact, which is the UN international initiative for business in the field of corporate and social responsibility. The recent inclusion of PhosAgro in the list of 36 global corporate leaders under the UN Global Compact, as well as the increase in investments made into our company by ESG funds, serves as a confirmation of the effective integration of the SDGs into the Company’s activities, as well as the transparent disclosure of our results in the field of sustainable development,” Bokova stressed.
