‘Ezhovaya Ski Resort Ltd. has been considering several options to attract more investments into development and modernization. Among them are applying for a $2-2.5 million loan, finding an external investor and selling the business,’ said Deputy Director Alexei Khvostov. According to Mr Khvostov, the business has been re-evaluated, all loan application papers have been collected and drawn up, and the ski resort has been put to auction (the opening bid is 3.5 million dollars). ‘Extra investments are a must if you want to develop the business; the snow and mountainside equipment is obsolete and

Metallurgical Works of Novgorod (part of Russian Copper Company) has gone through certificating procedure and has been awarded the safety and healthcare certificate that says the company meets the British OHSAS 18001:1999 standard demands. This is an important step in bringing the company’s management in accordance with the global standards. The main requirements were: compliance with labour legislation, employees that are qualified for the job they do, keeping track of and preventing the health risks, emergency training, safety provisions. The audit was held by Test-Saint Petersburg Ltd.

The Yekaterinburg concern Kalina JSC announced its IFRS results for 2005: the company’s sales proceeds and net profit came to $288.1 million and $22.9 million, respectively (increases of 58.5% и 24.5% compared to 2004). These results include profits coming from Dr. Scheller Cosmetics AG that was bought by Kalina in the second half of 2005. EBITDA came to 40.5 million dollars (an increase iof 39.2%)

In February 2006, the company produced 500,702,000 RUR worth of goods, which exceeds the figures for January by 4.5%; the metal products output comprised 484,918,000 RUR. The works produced 39,932 tonnes of steel (an increase of 4% compared to January), 28,595 tonnes of rolled steel (.4% less than a month before). 27,234 tonnes of goods were shipped to consumers, the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative.

Evrazruda JSC, part of Evraz Group and ore producer, has introduced the energy-saving project that is targeted at economizing on energy costs throughout the whole system of production. According to the company’s spokesperson, the project includes a few organizational and technical steps, for example, stricter disciplinary regulations on meeting overhaul deadlines in order to avoid energy wasting. Other steps consist in controlling the technological details, examination of the equipment aimed at looking into the possibilities of using fewer machines during the peak electricity consumption

On April 14, 2006, Metallurgical Works of Zlatoust will hold a press conference aimed at signing the Collective agreement for 2006-2007. The final changes to the agreement have been made at the last meeting of the conciliatory committee. The agreement, which regulates the relations between the management and the workforce, now says that the Veteran Board and the Women’s Committee will be receiveing more money, some perks will be offered to young employees; it also determined the lower wage limit. Provided that the company meets its financial and production goals as well as the quality

The furnace transformer has been replaced at the hydrometallurgical shop of Ufaleynickel JSC. The old one was dismantled, and the new one fitted with all the removable parts, examined and tested with and without electricity, the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative.

Pervouralskiy Novotrubniy Zavod JSC, the tube maker, shipped 95,500 tonnes of tubes and pipes in January and February 2006 (which exceeds the figures for January and February 2005 by 4%), of which 54,700 tonnes were shipped in February (an increase of 3% against a year earlier). The company produced the total of 100,000 tonnes of goods within these two months, which is 4% more than a year earlier; of these, 53,500 tonnes were tubes and pipes, which is 2% less that a year before.

In 2005, Uraltrack shipped and exported over 1,014,000,000 RUR worth of produce, the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative. The sales profits coming from civilian goods reached over 933 million RUR: 701 million came from goods exported to the NIS, 322 million from goods exported to other foreign countries, which exceeds the figures for 2005 by 68% and 25%, respectively. Over 750 million RUR worth of equipment was exported. 344 engineering machines were supplied abroad (an increase of 49.6%), of which 52 were DET bulldozers (13 new DET-320 ones). 7 DET-320 bulldozers and 16

CHTPZ Group signed a tube supplies agreement with Evraz Holding Ltd. valid until the end of 2006. According to the agreement, 90,000 tonnes of seamless pipes will be supplied by Evraz every three months; this is going to be a large part of all the pipes CHTPZ needs annually (about 1 million tonnes). The supplies will be delivered from the plants of Nizhniy Tagil and Novokusnetsk; CHTPZ will also cooperate with some other metallurgical companies and pipe suppliers such as Metallurgical Industrial Complex of Magnitogorsk and Ural Steel.

Vladimir Butenko, former Sales Director of Maxi Group, was appointed GD of Nizhneserginsk Metallurgical Works by the company’s Board of Directors Former General Director Alexander Kutakov was offered to lead the construction of Electrometallurgical Works of Togliatti. The Board also arranged for the shareholder meeting on April 3, 2006. The list of attendants is to be determined by the inscribed stock owners roll as of March 10, 2006. The points on the agenda include approving the annual balance sheet as well as the profit and loss account and their distribution. The other points concern the

The Board of Uralkhimplast JSC, chemical works, scheduled the general shareholder meeting for April 21, 2006. The points on the agenda include approving the annual balance sheet as well as the profit and loss account and their distribution, the payment of dividends, electing the Board members and the inspection committee as well as the company’s auditor. Besides, the meeting will have to result in the decision as to a merger with Ural Chemical Company JSC and the merging agreement. This merger appears to be mutually beneficial in terms of prospective increases in profits and produce

‘By December 31, 2006, the investments into voluntary insurance had reached the point of 37,994,330 RUR, the payments for this insurance comprised 10,659, 513 RUR; 2,171,835 RUR were invested in the obligatory car insurance, with payments for it being 585,382 RUR,’ said the spokesperson for Yekaterinburg subsidiary of Renaissance Insuracne Company Ltd.

‘The court officers of Yekaterinburg began enforcing the payment by Kalina JSC of the reputation damage and money loss compensation to Nefis Cosmetics JSC imposed on the former for counterfeiting the washing powder of the latter,’ the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative. ‘Kalina has to pay Nefis Cosmetics 10.5 million RUR after the corresponding verdict was returned by the Court of Appeals on January 31, 2006. We gave it a full month to do it voluntarily, and on March 1 we had to send the act of execution to Sverdlovsk Region law-enforcement agencies. On Marc h13, the officer

Starting March 23, the BH-600 block of Beloyarskaya nuclear power plant will be gradually deactivated to make possible the fuel refill and the regular technical examination. The procedures will be accompanied by the emission of inactive steam through the safety valves of turbogenerators. The block will be out of operation until May 21, 2006. In the meantime, the hot water and heating will be provided by city boiler house and the # 4 block now under construction.

Mechel JSC Chairman Igor Zyusin owns 47.1% of the company’s shares after the first transaction has been performed between him and V. Yorikh, the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative. A 3.4% share holding is now available to investors. To find the money, Mr Zyusin had to sell 15.9 million GDR that stood for 47.7 million shares and exchangeable UBS securities convertible to 6.8 million GDR that stood for 20.5 million shares; the total amount equaled to 68.2 million shares. The GDR cost 22 USD per share plus 7.8% discount added to the closing price at New York Stock Exchange. The

As a step in realization of nature-conservative measures program, Territorialnaya Generiruyushchaya Kompaniya # 10 JSC (TGK-10) is going to invest 9.3 million RUR into re-equipment of 9 boilers at Chelyabinsk State District Power Plant. During the last few years, the power stations of TGK-10 Chelyabinsk branch have been introducing the new method of gas cycling inside of the boiler furnace. Implementation of this method reduces emission of nitric oxides. Within 2005, this method of gas burning was introduced to three boilers of Chelyabinsk State District Power Plant. TGK-10 is also going to

Chelyabinsk Municipal Unitary Enterprise Upravleniye Munitsipalnogo Zakaza (Chelyabinsk Municipal Contracts Office) has announced an open competition for road construction contracts 2006. According to the contract, the building owner is Chelyabinsk Municipal Works Inspectorate. Five contracts for thorough repairs and reconstruction of Chelyabinsk roads are exhibited for the competition. The length of the reconstructed parts of the road under the contract varies from 0.85 to 3.5 kilometers. They are located in Svoboda, Blyukher, Karl Marx and Kurchatov Streets and Komsomolsky Avenue of

FINAM Management, part of FINAM Investments Holding, started to sell its shares in Chelyabinsk. Milcom Invest has been acting as their agent. The company represents 2 investment funds, FINAM Perviy (mixed investments) and FINAM Obligatsionniy (conservative strategies). In 2005, the profitability of the former comprised 78.51% (17.7% in February 2006). The lower investment limit is 1,000 RUR for the first company and 20,000 RUR for the second one. One can also convert the shares of different funds, for example, by investing in securities or shares during different periods of market growth.

During the first two months of 2006, Uralsky Zavod Zheleznodorozhnogo Mashinostroyeniya (Ural Railway Engineering Works), member of Sinara Group, produced 627 tons of hardware devices. 881 tons of hardware devices were shipped to consumers. The company’s sales increased by 10.6%. Within February 2006, the hardware production output came to 287 tons. 208 tons of hardware devices were shipped to consumers.