Polymetal commits to London listing as gold production rises
RUSSIAN precious metals miner Polymetal said yesterday that it has no plans to move its listing from London to Moscow, as it unveiled a 34 per cent surge in gold output in the first quarter.
The FTSE 250 company, which fell out of the top 100 index last year, shrugged off recent proposals from Russian officials about firms redomiciling and said it has “no intention to change the current corporate structure of the group”.
“As all operating entities of the group are domiciled in Russia and Kazakhstan, Polymetal generates all of its revenues and profits and pays all related taxes in these countries,” it said. “Therefore the company does not expect any material impact from the ‘deoffshorisation’ proposals on its operations.”
While gold production hit 316,000 ounces in the first quarter, sales lagged by 46,000 ounces, due to the timing of New Year holidays at refineries.
Net debt would have fallen but instead remained almost flat at $1.04m due to the seasonal delays.
Polymetal said it is on track to deliver its full-year production guidance of 1.3m ounces of gold equivalent, after “a strong start to the year”.
Shares closed down 0.9 per cent.