14th Mar 2016 09:07
LONDON (Alliance News) - Russian warehouse investor Raven Russia Ltd on Monday said was continuing to "batten down the hatches" as it continues to suffer from the downturn in the Russian economy caused by western sanctions imposed on the country and other economic problems.
The Russian market has been under significant pressure, first due to economic sanctions placed on the country by western powers over Russia's actions in Ukraine, but also due to the sharp decline in the world oil price and severe weakening in commodities markets, a major part of Russia's economy.
"Our general strategy is to batten down the hatches, preserve cash and make sure we are able to participate in the upside when things improve," said Glyn Hirsch, Raven Russia's chief executive.
Raven made a pretax loss of USD205.1 million in 2015, compared to a loss of USD98.0 million a year earlier, most as a result of the group booking a USD251.2 million loss on the value of its investment portfolio.
The company said the challenging macro-economic conditions in Russia have continued to impact on its business, with the weak ruble putting downward pressure on rents and the main culprit for the writedown on the value of its portfolio.
"We remain ready to commence development, pursue acquisitions and do further buy-backs of our own shares at these low levels as soon as we feel that market conditions will support a return to an expansionist strategy. Any reduction in sanctions or strengthening of the oil price will benefit us," Hirsch added.
Raven Russia shares were down 6.7% to 31.50 pence.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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