MOSCOW, Oct. 13, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mechel OAO (NYSE:MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and steel companies, reports that Sberbank has opened a credit line for Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant OAO (CMP).
Sberbank has opened a credit line totaling 15 billion rubles for Mechel's subsidiary CMP. The credit facilities provided will have a 5-year maturity and a 3-year grace period and will be used to refinance the short-term debt.
Stanislav Ploshchenko, Mechel's Chief Financial Officer, commented on the event: "We achieved a significant improvement in the maturity profile of our debt in September 2010 when we had placed 10 billion rubles of 5-year bond in two tranches and refinanced 2 billion dollars of the syndicated credit facility with international banks. We are not stopping there. The support we receive from Sberbank -- our longstanding partner -- helps us in achieving that goal. With the new credit line we will optimize the structure of our debt portfolio further, which will help us to continue working on our main task -- financing the growth of our business."
Mechel is one of the leading Russian companies. Its business includes four segments: mining, steel, ferroalloy and power. Mechel unites producers of coal, iron ore concentrate, steel, rolled products, ferroalloys, hardware, heat and electric power. Mechel products are marketed domestically and internationally.
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Mechel, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements. We refer you to the documents Mechel files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 20-F. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in our Form 20-F, that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, the achievement of anticipated levels of profitability, growth, cost and synergy of our recent acquisitions, the impact of competitive pricing, the ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals and licenses, the impact of developments in the Russian economic, political and legal environment, volatility in stock markets or in the price of our shares or ADRs, financial risk management and the impact of general business and global economic conditions.
CONTACT: Mechel OAO Ekaterina Videman +7 (495) 221-88-88 ekaterina.videman@mechel.com