Kaolin Ad

By the end of 2008 the group of KAOLIN Plc had generated a 20 % growth of the consolidated sales revenues compared to the same period of 2007. (BGN 141 721 000 as of 31.12.2008 compared to BGN 117 617 000 as of 31.12.2007). Compared to the individual revenues of the company for 2008 the rest of the group had added revenues to the amount of BGN 20 035 000.

The generated consolidated profit of the Group by the end of the fourth quarter is to the amount of BGN 9 059 000. The subsidiaries have added profit to the amount of BGN 932 000 to the individual profit of KAOLIN Plc which is BGN 8 127 000. The most essential contribution to the consolidated profit for 2008 belongs to Kopovi which had generated half of the contribution of the subsidiaries to the profit of the Group, followed by the other two foreign companies - PKSP and Srbokvarc.

The generated sales on a group level are in accordance with the prognoses of the management as of the beginning of this year. Despite the world financial crisis and the overall worsening of the market situation, the company’s management, yet by the end of the previous quarter, reported achievement of the projected consolidated growth (20 %) of the incomes for this year.

During the last quarter of 2008 as well as during the first two months of 2009 the company’s sales in the field of ceramics and partially in the fields of glass and construction have been seriously affected by the economic crisis. However, the company managed to develop a diversified product range on a group level as well as to timely structure its investments priorities in the country and abroad, part of which were frozen yet during the third quarter of the previous year.

The main accent of the Group for 2008 was the timely conclusion and put into operation of considerable energy-saving investments as well as starting the production activities of Solarpro JSC. The previous year was the first full year of existence of Solarpro JSC during which the company also passed through the most essential part of its investment cycle. The main business activity during the year was connected with construction and improvement of the production infrastructure, installing the first production line as well as the necessary concomitant machines and equipment. The projects of the company will be under its own design and will be built with company’s own solar panels.

In the beginning of 2009 the company already had an assigned contract for construction and instalment of a solar power-plant on the territory of the village of Yankovo. The power assigned for construction amounts to 2.4 MWp.

In order to guarantee the future development of Solarpro JSC, the management of KAOLIN Plc intends to increase the capital of Solarpro JSC during the following months depending on the progress of the project. For the current reporting year the company expects to implements its production predominantly on the local market. The company disposes with the necessary technical capacity and qualified expert team and expects in 2009 to be assigned more projects for construction of solar power-plants which appear to be the channel for realization of the solar panels production. These expectations for realization are based on the amendments in the energy sources legal framework which were adopted in 2008.

Regarding the projects abroad, a priority for the stable positioning of the Group in Ukraine shall remain the project for completion and putting into operation of the factory for cilica sand concentration in Ukraine, which is expected to be completed in the beginning of the second quarter of 2009.

The initiated during the last quarter of 2008 preparation for construction of an open mine for the kaolin deposit of Promineral was postponed until after the end of the first quarter of 2009 due to the heavy winter conditions.

Irrespective of the political and economic crisis in Ukraine, the management of Kaolin Plc does not expect a serious shrink of the consumption of its production with a view to its putting into practice on the part of the main clients in Ukraine and Russia.