Uralkaliy : Uralkali's Chief Financial Officer Anton Vishanenko attends the Russian CFO Summit

Anton Vishanenko, Uralkali's (the Company; MICEX: URKA) CFO, made a presentation at the Russian CFO Summit, held from 24 to 26 October at the InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya (Moscow).

During his speech, Anton Vishanenko outlined the main areas for optimisation of the Company's financial activities, including two main initiatives: the reduction of potash ore production and ship freight costs.

Potash ore production costs will be reduced through the development and use of advanced technology in order to gradually reduce the need for shaft-sinking and tunnel-boring machines operated at the Company's mines. An increase in load factor of the shaft-sinking and tunnel-boring machines will enable the Company to avoid acquiring new ones in 2017-2018, without reducing the number of mining teams, while released capacity will be used for new facilities in line with their commissioning. In the future, the amount of spending in this area may be reduced by 15%.

Optimisation of freight costs will be achieved through the creation of an e-freight platform involving ship owners and brokers. Its open format will allow all participants to diminish the role of brokers in ship transactions and reduce the amount of brokerage commissions. Uralkali suggests that such a tool will reduce the Company's freight costs by 5-7%.

Uralkali is also considering the possibility of converting part of its loan portfolio from a floating rate to a fixed one, the share of which may vary from 30% to 40%.

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The Russian CFO Summit is the largest and oldest annual meeting for the CFO community in Russia, organised by Adam Smith Conferences, bringing together senior finance executives from across the country and beyond. Its programme is filled with a variety of interactive formats, panel discussions, debates, interviews, plenary and parallel sessions, showcasing original viewpoints and innovative case studies. The speakers at the summit are always well-known and competent representatives of the financial sector.

Uralkali (www.uralkali.com) is one of the world's largest potash producers and exporters. The Company's assets consist of 5 mines and 7 ore-treatment mills situated in the towns of Berezniki and Solikamsk (Perm Territory, Russia). Uralkali employs ca.11,000 people (in the main production unit). Uralkali's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange.