May 7, 2014. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) looked into the results of its innovative activity in 2013; the launch of innovations resulted in a total 2.5bn RUR worth of savings last year, MMK says. All in all, MMK experts conducted 54 R&D projects last year. 5 innovative projects were completed, 11 new product makes were introduced, and some 4,900,000 kg of new kinds of metal goods were produced and shipped to customers within the framework of the company's innovative products program. The company spent around 96m RUR on making innovative goods in 2013 altogether. MMK

May 7, 2014. A special site for holding a football supporters festival during the World Cup 2014 in Brazil is expected to be prepared in V.V. Mayakovsky Central Park in Yekaterinburg, the city's official web portal states. The company that won the tender for the construction of the fan zone has already started working on this. Surveys revealed that the contractors will have to fortify the foundation with some rocky soil because the original layer is too thin. The builders are planning to select the soft soil in the area of 6,000 sq m, add some rocky soil, and then put some asphalt over

May 7, 2014. Elena Nikonova, CFO at Burevestnik Central Scientific Research Institute (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation), won in the All-Russian Honored Director of the Russian Federation Contest and was awarded a certificate and a badge of honor. The board of jurors evaluated Nikonova's professional activity that resulted in brilliant financial performance for the company, Uralvagonzavod's press service says. The Woman Leader. 21st Century Contest and the Honored Director of the Russian Federation Contest are coordinated annually by the Association of Russian

May 7, 2014. Gasoline prices in Sverdlovsk Region rose by 4.1% since the beginning of the year, Head of Sverdlovskstat Elena Kutina reports. According to Kutina, AI 95 grew 3% more expensive in April 2014 compared with December 2013, while AI 92 and AI 93 prices went up by 5.2%. As for other non-food items, white goods and consumer electronics prices also went up, which has to do with great customer demand.

May 7, 2014. KBTM, a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Scientific and Production Corporation, coordinated its traditional skills contest for blue-collar workers. Welders, turners, and numeric program control machine operators (some thirty people altogether) competed for the right to be called the best in their fields, the corporation's press service says. 'KBTM holds skills contests every year in order to enhance the prestige of highly skilled workers, single out the best people in their fields, promote their achievements and advanced experience, and provide professional training

May 7, 2014. 273,800 sq m of housing were commissioned in Sverdlovsk Region in January-March 2014, with funding provided from all possible sources. This figure is 2.1 times bigger than in the first quarter of 2013, Sverdlovsk Region Economics Ministry refers to Sverdlovskstat as stating. Private house builders put up 68.9% (188,700 sq m) of this housing, which is 1.8 times more than a year earlier. .14,800 sq m worth of housing was commissioned in the economy class apartment buildings sector; this was 12.9% more than in the first three months of 2013. It should be noted that the biggest

May 6, 2014. The shareholders of Kamensk-Uralsky Non-Ferrous Metals Processing Plant (KUZOTsM) were advised against payment of dividend and distribution of profit (4.4m RUR), the issuer officially states. This decision was made by the plant’s BOD on April 30, 2014. The annual general meeting is scheduled for June 19, 2014.

May 6, 2014. The third stage of a state contract signed with the Russian Federation Industry & Trade Ministry was completed at Ural Diesel Engine Plant (UDMZ, a member enterprise of Sinara Transport Machines). This contract is part of the Dieselstroy Project. The work acceptance statement to this extent was signed at the ministry in late April, the company’s press service reports. During this third stage of the contract, UDMZ workers did all the start-up and commissioning jobs relating to the launch of a single-cylinder unit (up to 408 kilowatts strong) and of the testing stands for the

May 6, 2014. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s head plant in Nizhniy Tagil hosted a research-to-practice conference on the vital issues of structural durability and wear resistance of spare parts. ‘Academicians and Corresponding Fellows from the Russian Academy of Sciences, PhDs in technical fields from Ural Federal University, experts from the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and representatives of the local industrial enterprises came to the conference to talk about the important aspects of the Urals’ industrial development,’ the corporation’s press service reports. The agenda of

May 6, 2014. MegaFon was declared the best telecommunications service provider in 2013 in the State Order 2014 Contest. It was awarded in the category called ‘Best Telecommunications Service Supplier’, the company’s press service says. The All-Russian State Order 2014 Contest recently closed at Crocus Expo Exhibition Center; the event gathered together all the major national-scale state suppliers. MegaFon presented several new products at once; these could be interesting for state-run organizations and private companies alike. MegaFon was awarded a prize in the ‘Best Telecommunications

May 6, 2014. The passenger load factor at interational flights decreased by 3.6% in March 2014 and came to 80.9% on average, the Association of Russian Tour Operators refers to Rosaviation as saying. ATOR Analytical Service reports that the increase in passenger traffic at international flights has slowed down recently. The international flights market (outside the CIS) rose by about 9% in the first two months of 2014, while in March, it only grew by 2.4%. According to Rosaviation, the passenger turnover of Russian companies went up by 4.3% in comparison with March 2013. The number of

May 5, 2014. Last Tuesday, April 29, Bank Koltso Urala made the payments on the 4th coupon period relating to its Series 01 bonds (state registration number 40100065B). The bond owners received a total of 41,189,970.66 RUR, that is, 51.89 RUR per bond, with coupon yield at 10.35% a year, the bank’s press service reports. Bank Koltso Urala went through with its first bond issue (Series 01, total face value 1bn RUR) successfully on April 27, 2012. The bonds are to be redeemed by April 30, 2015. The issuer announced on April 17, 2014, that the 5th and 6th coupon yield would stand at 10.35% a

May 5, 2014. The workers of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation’s head plant and its member enterprises as well as employees of other Nizhniy Tagil-based companies took part in the traditional clean-up days that were coordinated in Nizhniy Tagil at the end of April, the holding’s press service reports. ‘Every participant could decide on what to do: clean up their working place or the streets of Dzerzhinsky District. The employees cleaned lawns and pavements, roads and squares, as well as parks. Over 15 streets were made to look much nicer, including the major arteries like

May 5, 2014. This year, Russia’s Central Bank intends to mint a coin dedicated to the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol becoming Russian Federation constituencies, SKB-Bank refers to the Central Bank’s official website as stating. The ten-ruble coin will be made of steel with brass electroplated coating. ‘The coin will be minted in 10m units, which is the typical number for the ten-ruble coins. This means virtually every Russian citizen has a good chance of getting one,’ says SKB-Bank Operational Director Larissa Larionova. This is not the first time some Russian coins get minted

May 5, 2014. Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation received an employer trust certificate. According to the corporation’s press service, this paper certifies that on April 28, 2014 the corporation was placed on the list of employers who invariably comply with the workers’ labor rights. This was part of a program called Enterprises’ Declarations on Ensuring Employees and Employers’ Labor Rights’. ‘The certificate will enhance the corporation’s status on today’s labor market. Russian Federation constituencies are currently encouraging their local employers to declare their

May 5, 2014. Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ, a member of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation) started making its new B10M bulldozer with mechanical transmission and a more advanced engine made by Yaroslavl Engine Plant instead of the older D180 diesel, Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service says. ‘As the most popular and best-selling make of Chelyabinsk tractors keeps enjoying good demand, including in the CIS member states, ChTZ designers developed an upgraded version of the classical series-produced vehicle. Yaroslavl-made engines have been installed on tractors with

April 30, 2014. Ural Airlines held its 20th 'anniversary' general annual meeting on April 28, 2014. The agenda of the meeting comprised the following: electing the Board of Directors, approving of the company's Annual Report 2013 and of the annual accounting report, distribution of profit at the end of the financial year, and related party transactions, the airline's press service reports. The main positive factors that ensured an increase in the company's production output last year were: flight safety, highly skilled staff, expanded fleet of vehicles, start of the

April 30, 2014. Russia's Federal Customs Services placed Bank Koltso Urala on the updated list of banks that are granted the authority to issue bank guarantees on customs payments, that is, taxes and duties. Under the order issued by the Federal Customs Service, the upper limit on a guarantee comes to 35m RUR, while the total amount of all the bank guarantees that can be in operation at once comes to 170m RUR, the bank's press service reports. 'Being placed on this register gives Bank Koltso Urala the right to act as a guarantor for its customers involved in foreign economic

April 30, 2014. The Tankopedia Project is quickly gathering pace. Users are taking increasingly more interest in the new project coordinated by Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation, and the company awarded Tankopedia's two most active contributors with branded souvenirs, Uralvagonzavod's press service says. The residents of Nizhniy Tagil proved more interested in armored vehicles than any other users. One of the authors of free tank encyclopedia was awarded at Uralvagonzavod Armored Vehicles Museum; he was presented with a vest, a pair of boots, a T-shirt, and a

April 30, 2014. The net loss of Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant (ChTPZ), calculated in accordance with the IAS, came to 1.868m RUR in 2013 compared with 1.133m RUR in 2012. The plant's revenues reached 112,428m RUR, its EBITDA came to 18.173m RUR, its EBITDA margin reached 16.2%, and its joint debt decreased by 3bn RUR, the company's press service says. 'The company incurred 1.868m RUR worth of losses last year (against 1.133m RUR worth of net profit in 2012) due to the general decrease in profit margin that was typical of the Russian pipe-making sector because of last