Etalon Group Limited ETLN Etalon Group Launches Sales for Letniy Project

  Etalon Group Limited (ETLN) - Etalon Group Launches Sales for Letniy Project

RNS Number : 7205P
Etalon Group Limited
29 October 2012
 

 

 

 

29 October 2012

 

Etalon Group Launches Sales for Letniy Project

 

St. Petersburg - Etalon Group Limited  ("Etalon Group" or the "Company"),  one 
of Russia's largest and oldest residential real estate developers, is  pleased 
to announce  it has  received a  construction permit  and launched  sales  for 
Letniy, a 64.3 ths sqm NSA  comfort class residential construction project  in 
St. Petersburg. 

 

Project Letniy is  located on  a 2.1  hectare land plot  in the  south of  the 
Moskovsky district of St. Petersburg. It will consist of three buildings of 24
storeys each, containing a total of 990 flats, as well as 3-storey multi-level
parking. The  project has  good  transport accessibility,  located 2  km  from 
Pulkovo Airport  and 1  km from  the  airport railway  station, close  to  the 
Pulkovskoe highway (which puts  the centre of  St Petersburg approximately  15 
minutes away by car). The project  is within walking distance from a  shopping 
and entertainment zone. Etalon Group launched  sales of flats in October 2012,
and plans to deliver the project in  2013. Demand for flats in the project  is 
high, with approximately 120 flats (12% of total) already contracted as of the
date of this release.

 

The launch of sales on project Letniy  marks the third step in Etalon  Group's 
eight-step programme announced this year. 

 

Other  recent  announcements  are  available  on  the  Etalon  Group  website: 
http://www.etalongroup.com/investors/news/ 

 

Etalon Group IR Team

T: +44 (0) 20 8123 1328 

E: info@etalongroup.com 

 

M: Communications

Sam VanDerlip

T: +7 495 363 2845

vanderlip@mcomgroup.com 

 

About Etalon Group

 

History and Overview

 

Founded in  1987  by Viacheslav  Zarenkov,  Etalon  Group has  become  one  of 
Russia's largest residential real estate  developers. With a 25-year  history, 
the Company has one of  the longest and most  successful track records in  the 
Russian real estate industry. 

 

Today Etalon Group  is a  leading player in  Russia's "Golden  Triangle" -  St 
Petersburg, Moscow and the  greater Moscow area, with  a dominant position  in 
the "comfort class" segment.  The  Company's strong foothold in these  markets 
is reinforced further by its unique nationwide sales network covering 9 of the
10 wealthiest regions of Russia, and  spanning 30 cities in total.  The  sales 
network generates  up  to 30%  of  Etalon Group's  revenue,  and has  been  an 
important source of stable demand even throughout the crisis.

 

Etalon Group is one of the only truly vertically integrated businesses in  the 
Russian real estate sector.  The  Company does everything from acquiring  land 
to sales and cash collections from its customers, which enables it to maximise
margins throughout the  value chain,  and reduces exposure  to cost  inflation 
from external service providers.  Etalon Group  is a company of scale, with  a 
total of  40  business  units  that  employ  over  4,000  people,  two  strong 
management companies,  five general  contractors, 16  subcontractors, a  crane 
company, a brick factory and a nationwide sales network. 

 

Etalon Group's strong financial position is driven by its effective  pre-sales 
business model. The Company aims to  pre-sell 70-90% of all residential  space 
before a building  is delivered. It  also targets an  average down payment  of 
50%. This allows Etalon Group to finance the construction process using  money 
from customers, as opposed to using the loans or funding from shareholders.

 

In addition to homebuilding, Etalon Group's long history and superior  quality 
offering has helped it to become a trusted industrial construction partner for
clients like  General Motors,  Toyota, Ford  Motors, Bosch,  Siemens,  Nissan, 
Suzuki and Gazprom in northwest Russia.

 

Since 20 April 2011, Etalon Group Limited has had its GDRs traded on the  Main 
Market of the London Stock Exchange.

 

Operational and Financial Highlights

 

As of 31 December 2011, Etalon Group's portfolio comprised 31 projects, with a
total of 3.25  million sqm  of unsold  net sellable  area ("NSA")  in the  St. 
Petersburg and  Moscow Metropolitan  Areas.  Jones  Lang LaSalle  valued  this 
portfolio at USD 1,714  million, a 20%  increase in the  market value from  YE 
2010.

 

For the  year  ended 31  December  2011,  Etalon Group's  new  contract  sales 
totalled 270,012 sqm, or RUR 18,306 million.  Deliveries in 2011 totalled  328 
thousand sqm.

 

The Company recorded revenues of RUB 22.7 billion (USD 774 million) and EBITDA
of RUB 8.2 billion  (USD 279 million),  with an EBITDA margin  of 36% for  the 
year ended 31 December 2011, making it  one of the most profitable players  in 
the sector.

 

Etalon Group's net  cash position  at 31 December  2011 was  USD 167  million, 
leaving it well positioned to fund continued dynamic growth.

 

                     This information is provided by RNS
           The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
END
 
 
MSCGLBDGIBDBGDC -0- Oct/29/2012 07:00 GMT