Polyus Group, which includes a parent company and subsidiaries, attributed its considerable net profit growth to the absence of recognized losses in 2005 from business reputation devaluation in the previous reporting period.
Norilsk Nickel is one of the world's largest precious and non-ferrous metal producers, accounting for over 20% of the world's nickel output, and over 10% of cobalt and 3% of copper. The company produces 96% of Russia's nickel, 55% of its copper and 95% of its cobalt.
Norilsk Nickel shareholders voted at a meeting on September 30, 2005 to form Polyus Zoloto (Polyus Group) by divesting Norilsk's gold-mining assets - held through a closed joint-stock company called Polyus - into a separate legal entity.
The group's gross profit was unchanged from 2004 at $207 million. Sales grew 7% to $473 million in the period under review.
"The main factor that drove the company's sales was the 10% increase in the average selling price of gold, which rose from $407 per troy ounce to $449 per troy ounce on the external and domestic markets," Polyus Zoloto said.
Polyus Zoloto is the largest gold mining company in Russia, accounting for around 20% of the country's gold output. The firm's gold output in 2004 was around 33.75 metric tons, but that figure is expected to rise to about 100 mt/yr by 2010, making the company one of the world's top five producers of the precious metal.
The company's assets include gold fields in Siberia's Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk Region and Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), as well as the Magadan Region in the Far East.
