OJSC CHERKIZOVO GROUP (“the Company” or “the Group”). PRE-CLOSE TRADING UPDATE FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2009.Moscow, Russia – August 12, 2009 – Cherkizovo OJSC (LSE: CHE), one of Russia's leading integrated and diversified meat producers, today issues its trading results for the first six months of 2009.
Poultry Division
Total sales volumes in the poultry segment in the first six months of 2009 gained 5% to approximately 92,840 tonnes compared to approximately 88,350 tonnes in the first six months of 2008.
Prices for Cherkizovo poultry sales increased by 16% from 62.46 rubles per kg in the first six months of 2008 to 72.32 rubles per kg in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT). As a result of the 38% depreciation of the ruble over this period, prices in dollar terms decreased by 15% from $2.61 per kg in the first six months of 2008 to $2.19 per kg in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT)?.
Pork Division
Sales volumes in the pork division in the first six months of 2009 increased 8% to approximately 21,250 tonnes compared to approximately 19,680 tonnes for the same period of 2008.
In the first six months of 2009 prices for pork in Russia increased in ruble terms by 23% from 61.22 rubles per kg in the first half 2008 to 75.41 rubles per kg in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT). In dollar terms, prices decreased by 11% from $2.56 per kg of live weight in the first six months of 2008 to $2.28 per kg of live weight in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT)*.
Meat Processing Division
In the meat processing division the company continued to see decreased sales volumes of lower-priced, lower-margin products, and this together with lower consumption in the regions of Russia due to the challenging economic environment affected the performance of the division. Sales volumes were lower by 14% to approximately 61,550 tonnes in the first six months of 2009 from approximately 71,820 in the first six months of 2008.
Average prices increased by 17% from 95.07 rubles in the first half of 2008 to 111.43 rubles in the first six months of 2009 (excluding VAT). Segment prices in dollar terms decreased by 15% from $3.97 in the first half of 2008 to $3.37 in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT)*.
Commenting on the performance Sergei Mikhailov, CEO of Cherkizovo Group said: "Despite the challenging economic conditions and lower consumer spending in the first half year, we saw favorable ruble pricing and sales trends for our products. We remain cautiously optimistic about consumption patterns and pricing trends for our products for the rest of the year."
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