25 June 2018, Moscow – PJSC Aeroflot – Russian Airlines (“Aeroflot” or “the Company”) today held its Annual General Meeting of shareholders (AGM). Aeroflot shareholders elected the new composition of the Board of Directors and approved motions on other agenda items.
The AGM approved payment of dividends for the 2017 financial year equivalent to 50% of Aeroflot’s net profit under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS). The total dividend payment will be RUB 14,221.7 million, or RUB 12.8053 per share. Payment will be made in compliance with the legally required procedure by 10 August 2018.
The Annual Report and financial statements presented by the Company for 2017 were approved. It was noted that Aeroflot became a top-20 global carrier by passenger numbers. After an almost 30-year break Aeroflot returned to the global aviation elite and achieved one of the core goals of its Strategy-2025 ahead of time. Key milestones for the year were further increases in traffic, development of IT infrastructure and the route network, and the expansion of the fleet of modern aircraft.
In 2017 Aeroflot achieved robust operational results. Passenger numbers increased by 15.4% to a new record of 50.1 million passengers, with growth seen on both international and domestic routes. The Group’s share of the Russian aviation market stood at 40.5%. Aeroflot airline carried 32.8 million passengers, a 13.3% increase on the previous year. Key growth drivers were development of Europe-Asia transit traffic, as well as low-cost flights, which are operated in the Group by Pobeda.
Despite the effect of external economic factors, Aeroflot Group recorded a net profit for 2017 of RUB 23.1 billion in accordance with IFRS. Revenue rose to RUB 532.9 billion, an increase of 7.5% year on year. Revenue from scheduled passenger flights stood at RUB 427.5 billion (up 5.9%). These numbers underscore the Company’s robust financial position and potential.
Aeroflot received high recognition during the year from both the expert community and passengers. Aeroflot retained fourth place in a rating of the most digital airlines by consulting firm Bain & Co. Aeroflot remains Russia’s largest online-retailer. Aeroflot’s website and mobile app are becoming more innovative as means of fundamentally improving service and increasing the efficiency of the Company’s commercial activities. The Company is investing in particular in developing solutions based on Big Data and cloud technologies.
Aeroflot’s 4-Star Rating was confirmed by Skytrax, the authority on service in the aviation industry. In 2017 the airline was named Best Airline in Eastern Europe for the sixth time at the Skytrax World Aviation Awards. In addition, Aeroflot was awarded Five Star Global Airline Status by US passenger association APEX. In 2017 the authoritative agency Brand Finance named Aeroflot the strongest airline brand in the world, and in 2018 the Company retained this prestigious status.
Aeroflot Group’s intermediate goals under the Group’s strategy for 2018-2022 were adjusted to the upside. The pre-requisites for further pre-term achievement of the goals of the Group’s Growth Strategy through 2025 remain unchanged.
A number of related-party transactions were approved including a major transaction for the operating lease of 50 new MC-21-300 aircraft. The lessor will be LLC Aviacapital-Service, a subsidiary of State Corporation Rostec. The planned timeframe for delivery of the latest Russian passenger aircraft runs from 1Q 2020 to 3Q 2026 (subject to amendment and extension).
Following a competitive tender procedure the auditor of PJSC Aeroflot’s RAS financial statements for 2018 was confirmed as JSC HLB Vneshaudit, and the auditor of the consolidated financial statements under IFRS of Aeroflot Group for 2018 as PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit.
The new composition of the Board of Directors was approved with the 11 members as follows:
Lars BergstrÖm, senior advisor, UB Capital, Stockholm, Sweden
Mikhail Voevodin, CEO, PJSC VSMPO-AVISMA
Alexey Germanovich, Chairman of the Management Board of the development fund of Saint-Petersburg University, Chairman of the Corporate Management Committee at the Federal Property Management Agency of the Russian Federation
Igor Kamenskoy, Managing Director, LLC Renaissance Broker
Roman Pakhomov, CEO, LLC Aviacapital-Service
Dmitry Peskov, Director, Young Professionals Programme, Agency for Strategic Initiatives
Mikhail Poluboyarinov, First Deputy Chairman and Member of the Management Board, Vnescheconombank (VEB)
Vitaly Saveliev, CEO, PJSC Aeroflot – Russian Airlines
Vasily Sidorov, CEO, LLC Agency for Recapitalisation of Infrastructure and Long-Term Assets
Yury Slyusar, President, PJSC UAC
Sergey Chemezov, CEO, State Corporation Rostec
The five members of the Internal Audit and Revision Commission were approved as follows:
Igor Belikov, Director, Russian Institute of Direcotrs
Ekaterina Nikitina, Advisor to the President of PJSC Trnsneft
Mikhail Sorokin, Head of the Management Department of the Federal Agency for State Property Management
Sergey Ubugunov, Head of Department, Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation
Vasily Shipilov, Deputy Director of Department, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation