AFARAK GROUP PLC'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS REVIEW ...

07:00 London, 09:00 Helsinki, 16 February 2016 - Afarak Group Plc ("Afarak" or "the Company") (LSE: AFRK, OMX: AFAGR) Interim Report

AFARAK GROUP PLC'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS REVIEW FOR 1 JANUARY - 31 DECEMBER 2015

FULL YEAR HIGHLIGHTS (January-December 2015):

- Revenue increased by 8.7% to EUR 187.7 (FY/2014: 172.7) million
- Processed material sold increased by 7.0% to 104,150 (FY/2014: 97,351) tonnes
- EBITDA was EUR 17.2 (FY/2014: 8.4) million and the EBITDA margin was 9.2% (FY/2014: 4.9%)
- EBIT was EUR 9.9 (FY/2014: 1.7) million and the EBIT margin was 5.3% (FY/2014: 1.0%)
- Profit for the period from continuing operations totalled EUR 7.8 (FY/2014: 0.5) million
- Full year ferrochrome production increased by 2.1% to 103,591 (FY/2014: 101,461) tonnes
- Tonnage mined increased by 51.8% to 461,781 (FY/2014: 304,199) tonnes
- Cash flow from operations was EUR 12.5 (FY/2014: 5.1) million

Q4 HIGHLIGHTS (October - December 2015):

- Revenue increased by 18.2% to EUR 49.2 (Q4/2014: 41.6) million
- Processed material sold increased by 32.7% to 31,137 (Q4/2014: 23,465) tonnes
- EBITDA was EUR 3.7 (Q4/2014: 0.0) million and the EBITDA margin was 7.5% (Q4/2014: 0.0%)
- EBIT was EUR 1.8 (Q4/2014: -1.1) million and the EBIT margin was 3.7% (Q4/2014: -2.8%)
- Profit for continuing operations totalled EUR 0.8 (Q4/2014: -0.3) million
- Ferrochrome production decreased by 5.5% to 28,938 (Q4/2014: 30,622) tonnes
- Tonnage mined increased by 47.3% to 95,587 (Q4/2014: 64,875) tonnes
- Cash flow from operations was EUR 0.4 (Q4/2014: -4.3) million and liquid funds at 31 December were
  EUR 19.6 (31 December 2014: 13.3) (30 September 2015: 22.3) million
 
DIVIDEND PROPOSAL

The Board of Directors will propose a new dividend policy to the Annual General Meeting, which will be held on 11 May 2016. The Group will in future review it distributions to shareholders either through a capital redemption or dividend twice yearly at the time of the full year and the half year announcements. This new policy will allow the board to take prudent decisions based on market conditions whilst continuing to share its positive results with shareholders. In line with this new policy the board will be recommending a EUR0.02 per share distribution where EUR0.01 will be paid in May 2016 and subject to market conditions a further EUR0.01 will be paid in August 2016.

KEY FIGURES (EUR million)	Q4/15	Q4/14	Change	FY2015	FY2014	Change
Revenue	49.2	41.6	18.2%	187.7	172.7	8.7%
EBITDA	3.7	0.0		17.2	8.4
EBITDA margin	7.5%	0.0%		9.2%	4.9%
EBIT	1.8	-1.1		9.9	1.7
EBIT margin	3.7%	-2.8%		5.3%	1.0%
Earnings before taxes	0.5	-1.3		6.5	0.5
Earnings margin	0.9%	-3.1%		3.5%	0.3%
Profit for continuing operations	0.8	-0.3		7.8	0.5
Profit for discontinued operations	0.8	1.8		0.8	1.8
Profit	1.6	1.4		8.5	2.2
Earnings per share, basic, EUR	0.01	0.01		0.03	0.01

Commenting on the full year and fourth quarter results of 2015, Alistair Ruiters, CEO, said:

"I am very pleased to report an outstanding performance by Afarak in 2015. The Group reported very positive results in the first half of the year. This was followed by the seasonal market slowdown during the summer period. Afarak though performed strongly in the fourth quarter selling higher volumes of processed material compared to the comparable period last year. In fact year on year we succeeded in increasing sales in processed material by 7.0%. The introduction of a bulk sample mining at Vlakpoort in the second quarter and the uninterrupted operation of Mecklenburg for the year enabled the FerroAlloys segment to increase mined tonnages by 53.8%. Our Speciality Alloys segment also increased mined output by 37%.

The Group's revenue for the past year increased by 8.7% year -on-year. Afarak's EBITDA doubled when compared to the previous year as EBITDA improved both in the Speciality Alloys segment and in the Ferro Alloys segment.

Whilst global sentiment for commodities consistently weakened throughout the year, the market for our Speciality Alloy products was stable, with prices in Euro-terms remaining firm. The uncertainty in the market towards the end of 2015 has made us more cautious ahead of 2016. As a result, we have actively managed our stockpiles successfully reducing our inventory and increasing our cash position.

The Group succeeded in reporting higher EBITDA and EBIT levels and our focus remains on generating cash and increasing profits. This is reflected both in the Group's results over the past years and since entering the minerals business in 2008, culminating in our strongest year ever in 2015. Our balance sheet and cash position remains strong and we believe this will offer some protection against the headwinds we may encounter in the year ahead.

Afarak remains committed to its strategy of managing production levels, increasing its range of speciality products and diversifying its geographic spread of customers. Given the headwinds in the sector, we will continue to review our production costs and reorganise our structures to reduce overall expenditure."
  
Disclosure procedure

Afarak follows the disclosure procedure enabled by Disclosure obligation of the issuer (7/2013) published by the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority, and hereby publishes its Q4/2015 interim report enclosed to this stock exchange release. The Interim Report is attached to this release and is also available on the Company's website at www.afarak.com.

Investor Conference Call

Management will host an investor conference call in English on 16 February 2016 at 14.00 Finnish time, 12.00 UK time. Please dial-in at least 10 minutes beforehand, quoting the reference: 38313.

Finnish number [phone]
UK number [phone]


AFARAK GROUP PLC
Alistair Ruiters
CEO


For additional information, please contact:

Afarak Group Plc
Alistair Ruiters, CEO, [phone], [e-mail]
Melvin Grima, Finance Director, [phone], [e-mail]

Financial reports and other investor information are available on the Company's website: www.afarak.com.

Afarak Group is a chrome mining and minerals producer focused on delivering sustainable growth with a Speciality Alloys business in southern Europe and a FerroAlloys business in South Africa. The Company is listed on NASDAQ Helsinki (AFAGR) and the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (AFRK).

Distribution:
NASDAQ Helsinki
London Stock Exchange
main media
www.afarak.com  

Afarak Group Q4 2015

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This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Afarak Group via Globenewswire

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