Etalon Group Limited (“Etalon Group” or the “Company”), one of Russia’s largest and longest-established development and construction companies, has delivered the ExpoForum congress and exhibition centre in St. Petersburg. The ceremonial opening of ExpoForum will coincide with the IV St. Petersburg International Gas Forum, which starts on 7 October 2014 at the site.  

ExpoForum is the largest commercial construction project in St. Petersburg in recent years.  It is located on a 56-hectare plot of land between the Pulkovskiy and Peterburgskiy highways.  The full project includes a congress and exhibition centre for up to 10,000 people, three exhibition pavilions, an arcade building, two hotels with a total of 447 rooms (a 4-star Hilton Hotels & Resorts and a 3-star Hampton by Hilton), as well as the customs and logistics complex, parking, three helicopter pads and utilities infrastructure.

Etalon Group currently has delivered the congress centre, three exhibition pavilions, the arcade building, customs and logistics complex and two security checkpoints.  The total area of the indoor exhibition areas that have been delivered is 50,000 sqm.  The two hotels are due to be delivered in December 2014.

The ExpoForum construction contract was signed in August 2011 between Etalon Group’s subsidiary CJSC SSMO LenSpetsSMU and CJSC ExpoForum.

This and other recent announcements are available on the Etalon Group website: www.etalongroup.com/investors/news/

T: +44 20 8123 1328
E: info@etalongroup.com 

Sam VanDerlip
T: +44 7554 993 032
T: +7 499 918 3134
E: vanderlip@em-comms.com

Founded in 1987 by Viacheslav Zarenkov, Etalon Group has become one of Russia's largest development and construction corporations.  The Company focuses on middle class residential real estate in the Moscow and St. Petersburg metropolitan areas, where it operates through Etalon Invest and LenSpetsSMU subsidiaries. With a 27-year history, Etalon Group has one of the longest and most successful track records in the Russian real estate industry.

Since its inception, Etalon Group has commissioned 3.9 million sqm. The Company is currently implementing its post-IPO construction programme, which is on track to achieve fourfold growth in construction volumes between 2010 and 2016 (from 209 ths sqm to 800 ths sqm).  Etalon Group’s CAGR for deliveries in 2010-2013 was 31%.

Etalon Group’s strong reputation among consumers supports its pre-sales business model, which helps the Company to minimise external financing needs for ongoing projects while maintaining a secure liquidity position: net debt as of 31 December 2013 was just USD 6 million.

The Company is vertically integrated, which helps it to control costs, quality and timing, as well as to demonstrate best-in-class profitability. Etalon Group employs over 4,500 people, and its nationwide sales and marketing network covers 36 Russian cities.

As of 31 December 2013, Etalon Group’s portfolio comprised 28 projects, with a total of 3.44 million sqm of unsold net sellable area. Jones Lang LaSalle valued this portfolio at USD 2,727 million, a 15% increase in the market value from YE 2012.

For the year ended 31 December 2013, Etalon Group's new contract sales totalled 356 ths sqm, or RUB 30,227 million. Deliveries in 2013 totalled 468 ths sqm. The Company recorded revenue of RUB 39.9 billion and EBITDA of RUB 9.4 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 24% for the year ended 31 December 2013.

Etalon Group Limited’s GDRs have been traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange since 20 April 2011.