Report: Beluga mulls SPO, treasury shares cancellation in 2022–24

MOSCOW, Jan 11 (PRIME) -- Beluga Group, one of Russia’s leading producers of alcohol, can either hold a secondary public offering (SPO) of the remaining treasury shares, or cancel them in the next three years, CEO Alexander Mechetin said in an interview with BCS World of Investment, released on Tuesday.

“In the next three years, we will cancel the remaining treasury shares, or offer them to investors if we need capital investment and the stock market situation is favorable,” he said.

In June 2021, the company sold 2 million shares at 2,800 apiece to raise 5.6 billion rubles in an SPO and to double free float.

“Before the SPO, the number of our securities in circulation was low, below 10%, and most of them were held by several large funds, meaning real free float was below 10%,” Mechetin said.

Beluga does not plan to adjust its current dividend policy, which envisages dividends of at least 25% of the net profit paid twice a year, the CEO said.

He also said that the company plans capital expenditures of around 3 billion rubles annually and that the current net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) ratio amounts to 2x.

Mechetin confirmed Beluga’s plans to double revenue until 2024.

“The pace and the timeframe are realistic. Basing on the goal, we need to add around 20% annually in terms of the core financials and revenue,” he said.

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