JSC Atomenergoprom Annual Report slide image

JSC Atomenergoprom Annual Report

GOVERNANCE SYSTEM JSC ATOMENERGOPROM / ANNUAL REPORT / 120 Improving the accuracy of payment scheduling (a rolling liquidity forecast); Maintaining a competitive cost of servicing of the consolidated debt portfolio; Centralising treasury transactions (complying with the financial policy); Introducing project financing instruments as part of project implementation by the Company and its organisations. In 2022, the Company continued to implement and expand the scope of the project focused on further centralisation of the treasury function, including the rollout of the Payment Factory at JSC Atomenergoprom (hereinafter referred to as the Payment Factory). This project is aimed at further improving the performance of the treasury function in the industry. A total of about RUB 46.64 billion was saved in the industry through intra-group financing between 2010 and 2022. Green bonds In 2022, JSC Atomenergoprom placed the second issue of 'green' exchange-traded bonds (series 001R-02) with a par value of RUB 9 billion. The issue was placed as part of the series 001R exchange-traded bond programme worth up to RUB 100 billion inclusive. The bonds have a maturity of three years. Proceeds from the bond placement have been used to refinance expenditure on the implementation of the Wind Power programme. They were more than eight times oversubscribed. As the bond issue was oversubscribed, the Company was able to lower the coupon rate to 8.95% per annum, which corresponds to an effective yield of 9.15%. The Expert RA rating agency acting as an independent verifier confirmed that the bond issue complied with the Green Bond Principles (GBP) of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and with the provisions of the Russian Green Finance Guidelines developed by VEB.RF. Parties to the transaction included all categories of investors, such as banks, managers, investment firms and insurance companies; it also generated demand from individuals. Earlier, in 2021, JSC Atomenergoprom placed the first issue of 'green' exchange-traded bonds (series 001R-01) with a par value of RUB 10 billion. The issue was placed as part of the series 001R exchange- traded bond programme worth up to RUB 100 billion inclusive. The bonds have a maturity of five years. This is the first placement of exchange-traded bonds by a Russian issuer to finance renewable energy sources. Receiving and maintaining credit ratings In the reporting year, JSC Atomenergoprom continued to take steps to the maintain the credit rating assigned by the national rating agency, JSC Expert RA. As at 31 December 2022, the national rating agency JSC Expert RA confirmed the credit rating assigned to JSC Atomenergoprom at ruAAA with a stable outlook. Raising financing for day-to-day operations and for projects As part of its day-to-day operations and project activities, the Corporation successfully maintained the average interest rate on its total debt portfolio denominated in Russian roubles below 8.9% as at 31 December 2022. Despite turbulence on the Russian financial market amid unprecedented sanctions pressure on financial and industrial sectors of the Russian economy, throughout 2022, the Company maintained sufficient liquidity to ensure that it and its organisations operate normally and fulfil their contractual obligations on time. JSC Atomenergoprom continued to obtain funding on preferential terms, including for the implementation of digital transformation projects. These are aimed at improving management efficiency in the nuclear industry and implementing domestically produced IT solutions that do not rely on imported technology as part of a subsidy programme run by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation pursuant to Decree No. 1598 of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 5 December 2019. The Company continued to use suretyship to secure obligations of organisations in the industry to their counterparties. This measure helps to reduce both the cost of bank guarantees and the cost of financing raised by the Company (including interest expenses). The Company continued to search for sources of financing for projects in traditional and new business areas: As part of the development of a concession model for the financing of construction of a pilot small nuclear power plant in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), an agreement on the implementation of a zero- carbon nuclear power generation project in the Arctic zone of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) in the form of a public-private partnership was signed with the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic at SPIEF 2022, and an agreement on cooperation in the development of a mineral resource centre in the Arctic zone of the Sakha Republic was signed with the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Head of the Sakha Republic at the 2022 Eastern Economic Forum; Financial documents were signed to finance the construction of three industrial facilities as part of the implementation of the Infrastructure for the Management of Hazard Class 1 and 2 Waste Federal Project. Loans to be provided by the financial partner will total RUB 22.1 billion. The project involves setting sustainable development targets, the achievement of which will result in a decrease in the cost of financing; As part of the project to build the multipurpose fast neutron research reactor (MBIR), conditions precedent were met for obtaining project financing, and the first drawdown was made under the syndicated loan agreement based on the principles of the Project Finance Factory (pursuant to Decree No. 158 of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 15 February 2018), with the target amount of funding to be raised from the banks totalling RUB 23.3 billion; A dedicated consortium of banks was formed to finance a project to build a plant that will produce lithium- ion batteries and energy storage systems in Russia (under a syndicated loan agreement based on the principles of the Project Finance Factory). GOVERNANCE SYSTEM JSC ATOMENERGOPROM / ANNUAL REPORT / 121
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