SIBUR nearly doubles investments to 440 bln rubles in 2024

MOSCOW. Dec 27 (Interfax) - SIBUR's investments in 2024 exceeded planned values and reached 440 billion rubles, SIBUR CEO Mikhail Karisalov said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV.

"At the start of the year, we saw the budget as being 1.7 to 1.8 times bigger in 2024 [compared] to 2023. In fact, the investment budget in our company in 2024 almost doubled year-on-year to 440 billion rubles," Karisalov said.

Karisalov said that the high key rate does not currently impose significant restrictions on SIBUR, but it may affect the growth rates of consumer industries in the future. "Undoubtedly, we see potential effects from the actions of the Central Bank. On one hand, the logic behind these decisions by our colleagues at the Central Bank is understandable. And honestly speaking, there might be some delayed negative effect in terms of restraining consumer sectors such as construction and utilities. Consequently, this could also impact us. On the other hand, this cost of money currently does not impose significant restrictions on us. We operate in close cooperation with our processors. The services we provide - logistics, financial, trade, and R&D - allow for continued development even in today's environment of high money costs. Overall, the industry is growing both along the chain of our large-scale production and that of our processors. The outlook is positive," he said.

The Russian polymer industry has grown at an average annual rate of 6% over the past five years, outpacing the country's GDP growth rate, he said.

In 2024, 75%-76% of the company's revenue came from the Russian market. Export markets include the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and North Africa.

"Frankly speaking, we do not see any restrictions here," Karisalov said.

SIBUR aims to rank in the middle of the top ten global producers of synthetic materials and position Russia at sixth or seventh place in global production of these materials, he said. The implementation of already launched projects will double the company's production capacity compared to 2021, he said.

When asked about the upcoming IPO, Karisalov said that "shareholders have consistently emphasized the importance and appropriateness of SIBUR being a public company." However, he did not disclose the expected timeline or the share of stocks that will be offered on the market.