East Capital Awards 2012 recognise MHP, Sberbank and Linas Agro as leading companies in Eastern Europe
East Capital today announces that MHP, Sberbank and Linas Agro have been named the winners of the East Capital Awards 2012 and will receive their prizes at the annual gala awards ceremony in Stockholm, which coincides with the 15th anniversary of East Capital’s founding in 1997.
This is the ninth time East Capital recognises outstanding companies within Eastern Europe with East Capital Awards. The three categories are Best Growth, Best IPO and Discovery of the Year. Peter Elam Håkansson, Chairman of East Capital, said: ”The Awards serve to highlight some of the most outstanding companies in Eastern Europe and also to inspire others. As a core feature of our investment strategy since we founded East Capital 15 years ago, we conduct many company visits – nowadays over 1,200 each year – to seek out this talent, and maintain a wide network of contacts with companies and decision makers in the region. I want to extend my sincere congratulations to this year’s award winners on their impressive achievements.”
The Best Growth Award is presented to MHP (Mironovskiy Hleboprodukt), the largest poultry producer in Ukraine, one of the largest in Europe and one of the most efficient worldwide thanks to a fully vertically integrated business model. From 2007 to 2011 MHP’s poultry production volumes, sunflower oil production and land bank almost doubled while grain production increased 3.5 times. In the first half of 2012, the company once again delivered outstanding financial results with a 24% revenue growth and 46% EBITDA growth. As a result, MHP has been one of the best performing Ukrainian stocks year to date, with a return of 42.4% in USD terms compared to the market decline of 34.4%.
Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia with nearly 30% market share by assets, has been awarded the Best IPO Award. The placement of USD 5.4 billion of Sberbank’s shares in September by the Central Bank of Russia became the largest domestic privatisation, the largest transaction in emerging markets and the 10th largest placement globally this year. The placement was fully subscribed in less than one day and was oversubscribed three times, attracting bids from more than 300 institutional investors.
Linas Agro, a leading Lithuania-based integrated agro trader, producer and investor in the Baltic States has been awarded the Discovery of the Year Award. The company has, since its successful IPO on the Vilnius Stock Exchange in February 2010, expanded into grain trading, storage and farming operations in Lithuania as well as agro machinery and seed trading in the Baltics. Despite turbulent conditions in the agro sector, Linas Agro has remained profitable, whilst growing sales at a compound annual growth rate of 15% to EUR 388 million over the last 5 years.
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Notes to editors The East Capital Awards have been held since 2004 to reward the progress of outstanding companies in Eastern Europe. This year's winners will receive their awards at a gala ceremony and dinner at Grand Hotel (Vinterträdgården) in Stockholm on 9 November 2012.
The award for Best Growth is presented to the company that has demonstrated the best growth in sales, assets and profit margins in recent years. The Best IPO Award is presented to the company that has carried out the most successful flotation in the region. The Discovery of the Year is awarded to the company with a distinctive investment proposition and which is expected to demonstrate strong future performance.
For further information about the winning companies, please visit:
Best Growth Award 2012 – MHP
Best IPO Award 2012 – Sberbank
Discovery of the Year Award 2012 – Linas Agro
Contact information
Vesna Lucca, Head of Communications,
East Capital +46 70 601 92 20
twitter@EastCapital
About East Capital
East Capital is the leading independent asset manager specialising in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and China. The company, founded in 1997, bases its investment strategy on thorough knowledge of the markets, fundamental analysis and frequent company visits by its investment teams. East Capital actively manages EUR 3.8 billion in public equity, private equity and real estate. It is headquartered in Stockholm, with offices in Hong Kong, Kyiv, Moscow, Oslo, Paris, Shanghai and Tallinn.