DTEK acquires coal mines, enrichment plant in Russia

DTEK (DTEKUA), Ukraine’s largest private energy holding, finalized the acquisition of three coal mines and one coal washing plant in Russia, which were part of the Rostovsky Anthracite company, DTEK announced yesterday. The three mines extracted an aggregate of 0.5 mmt of low sulfur anthracite coal in 2011 and are forecasted to produce 2 mmt in the future, though an exact time frame was not disclosed. DTEK plans to mix the low sulfur Russian coal with higher sulfur Ukrainian coal from subsidiaries Rovenkiantracit and Sverdlovantracit, and to leverage these products to expand sales to European customers.

Roman Topolyuk: DTEK’s Rovenkianthracite and Sverdlovanthracite are already two of the lowest sulfur content coal producers in Ukraine, but mixing it with Russian coal, which presumably has even lower content, will enable DTEK to increase coal export. This will increase the company’s share of USD denominated revenue (9% in 2011). Acquisition of the low-sulfur coal producers in Russia’s Rostov region is favorable in terms of low transportation costs compared to Russian miners in Kuzbas or Eastern Siberia. We estimate the volume of the deal at no more than USD 50 mln, which combined with our expectations of increased consolidated EBITDA for DTEK, will have a minor impact on DTEK’s net debt/EBITDA ratio, keeping it below 1x in 2012.