UPDATE 1-Etalon H1 net rises 41 pct to $96 mln
* Eyes more project acquisitionsMOSCOW, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Russian developer Etalon reported on Thursday a 41 percent rise in first-half
net profit to $96 million on the back of a broad market recovery
and said it was positioned to acquire more projects.The company, which raised $500 million in a London initial
public offering in April, also said in a statement six-month
revenues grew 9 percent year-on-year to $330 million.Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortisation (EBITDA) rose 25 percent to $124 million, and the
EBITDA margin increased to 38 percent from 34 percent a year
ago.”We believe only a small portion of current sales are due to
investment purchases: instead, pent up demand is driving sales
as many households are not willing to postpone apartment
purchases for another two years,” Etalon Group President
Vyacheslav Zarenkov said.”We see on a micro level that both households and companies
are in much better shape than during the crisis of 2008,” he
said.The company said it had acquired three projects since the
IPO, representing 40 percent of its initially planned
acquisitions, adding the deals were financed from its operating
cash flow, leaving IPO proceeds largely intact.”Our IPO proceeds and cash flow generated from our operating
activity amount to more than $600 million. This positions Etalon
well to acquire more high-quality projects,” Zarenkov said.
