The credit rating of MKOOO “Sodruzhestvo Rus” (hereinafter, Sodruzhestvo Rus, the Company, or the Group) is based on the strong operational profile, which is determined by very strong geographic diversification, high scores for market position and business, as well as medium corporate governance. The financial profile assessment reflects the medium scores for leverage, coverage, profitability and cash flow, as well as the large size of the Group’s business and strong liquidity assessment.
Sodruzhestvo Rus is one of the largest agro-industrial holdings in Russia, engaged in the deep processing of oilseeds and the distribution of products to end consumers. The Group owns port infrastructure, warehouse facilities and rail terminals that provide cargo handling and delivery capabilities. The Company’s assets also include a specialized fleet of grain railcars and food tankers, as well as a fleet of small- and large-tonnage vessels.
key assessment factors
Strong market position. The Company is a leader in the oil and fat industry in the production of soybean and rapeseed meals and occupies a leading position in the production of sunflower meal. The Group also occupies a strong position in the vegetable oil market (sunflower, soybean, rapeseed and flaxseed), accounting for approximately 12% of the output of this product in the Russian Federation by the end of the 2024–2025 agricultural season.
High assessment of business and very strong geographic diversification. The Company’s high product diversification stems from the production of more than 50 types of products. The main types of products are soy meal (31.3% of revenues from July 2024 to June 2025), soybean oil (16.6%), rapeseed oil (16.4%), and sunflower oil (12.4%). At the same time, the Company’s production capacity allows for a complete replacement of raw materials in a single shift, which increases flexibility in the face of price volatility for a particular crop. Sodruzhestvo Rus does not own a land bank and does not cultivate soy, rapeseed, or sunflower. The absence of an in-house raw materials base is compensated by good diversification of suppliers. The Company uses oilseed raw materials produced in Russia, as well as soy beans from South America (Brazil and Paraguay). There is no dependence on suppliers and contractors who are difficult to replace. Demand for the Group’s products is stable due to the low substitutability of processed oilseed products in modern livestock farming and aquaculture, as well as growth in global demand for vegetable oils.
The Company’s business is supported by the presence of its own port infrastructure and railroad logistics. The Group is the second largest owner of specialized railcars in the CIS with a fleet of 8,500 railcars. The Company also owns a deep-water port in the Baltic Sea with a daily cargo throughput of 70,000 tons of oilseeds and other agricultural crops. Furthermore, Sodruzhestvo Rus operates a network of its own agro-logistics centers in six regions of Russia with a total capacity of over 400,000 tons.
The Group’s production assets are located in the Russian Federation (Kaliningrad Region and Kursk Region) and the Republic of Belarus and include six oil extraction plants with a total processing capacity of 5.8 mln tons of oilseeds (including the third plant of the Kursk complex, launched in the fall of 2025). The plant in Smorgoni (Belarus) has an annual processing capacity of more than 660,000 tons of soy or rapeseed. The high geographic diversification assessment stems from the Company’s broad export operations, with around 70% of revenues coming from exports to over 35 countries (including China, India, Belarus, and countries in North Africa and the Middle East), while the remaining share of products are sold in Russia.
Medium corporate governance. When assessing corporate governance, ACRA notes that the owners of the Company are heavily involved in its strategic and operational management. In ACRA’s opinion, the Company’s strategy is successful and enables it to maintain leading market positions. The assessment of the Group’s structure reflects its certain complexity, which is typical for vertically integrated holdings. Financial transparency is assessed as medium because the Company does not release operating and financial results on its website.
Large size of business and medium profitability. The Company’s revenues declined by 6.5% from July 2024 to June 2025 to RUB 257 bln against a backdrop of absence of price growth for ready products and strengthening of the ruble exchange rate. The Agency projects growth of the financial metrics of Sodruzhestvo Rus in the forecast period due to an increase in the available raw material base amid a trend toward expanding acreage for oilseed crops, an increase in their yield, and also due to the expansion of the Group’s production capacity (in the Kursk and Amur Regions). According to ACRA’s calculations, the weighted average FFO before net interest payments and taxes will be 1,607 bps of GDP or RUB 35.4 bln for July 2022 to June 2028, which according to the Agency’s methodology corresponds to a high assessment of business size.
Over the 12 months that ended on June 30, 2025, the FFO margin before net interest payments and taxes fell from 11% to 8% year-on-year as a result of a decline in the processors’ margins due to raw material shortages and higher prices. ACRA expects profitability to recover to higher levels amid an improvement in the harvest situation and lower raw materials prices. As a result, the Company’s weighted average FFO margin before net interest payments and taxes from July 2022 to June 2028 is assessed by the Agency at 11.4%, which corresponds to a medium score as per ACRA’s methodology.
Medium leverage and interest payment coverage. The Company’s loan portfolio consists of bank financing. Debt denominated in foreign currency (70% of the loan portfolio) and in rubles (30%) has mainly been obtained at fixed rates. According to the Agency’s estimates, the weighted average total debt to FFO before net interest payments will be 3.5x from July 2022 to June 2028. ACRA expects the Group’s leverage to decline as production facilities reach their design processing volumes. The qualitative assessment of leverage is high thanks to the significant share of long-term liabilities, comfortable debt repayment schedule and high diversification of the loan portfolio.
Obtaining loan products in foreign currency at lower rates has a positive influence on interest payment coverage, while the long period of tight monetary policy in Russia increases the cost of borrowings denominated in rubles. ACRA expects the weighted average ratio of FFO before net interest payments to interest payments from July 2022 to June 2028 to be 3.0x, which corresponds to a medium score for coverage.
Strong liquidity and medium cash flow assessment. The assessment of the liquidity of Sodruzhestvo Rus is high due to a significant volume of undrawn credit limits under provided credit lines. The Group’s investment program is focused on implementing the business development strategy and launching production facilities that are currently under construction. The medium assessment of cash flow stems from the medium assessments of the free cash flow (FCF) margin and the ratio of capital expenditures to revenues.
KEY ASSUMPTIONS
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Weighted average USD/RUB exchange rate at 85.6–100.2 in the forecast period from 2025 to 2028;
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Capital expenditures in the forecast period in line with the financial model provided to the Agency;
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Access to external liquidity sources;
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Annual dividend payments at no higher than past values.
POTENTIAL OUTLOOK OR RATING CHANGE FACTORS
The Stable outlook assumes that the rating will highly likely stay unchanged within the 12 to 18-month horizon.
A positive rating action may be prompted by:
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Weighted average ratio of FFO before net interest payments to interest payments exceeding 5.0x coupled with the weighted average ratio of total debt to FFO before net interest payments declining below 2.0x;
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Weighted average FFO margin before net interest payments and taxes exceeding 12% coupled with the weighted average FCF margin exceeding 3% and the weighted average ratio of capital expenditures to revenues falling below 8%.
A negative rating action may be prompted by:
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Weighed average ratio of total debt to FFO before net interest payments exceeding 3.5x;
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Weighted average ratio of FFO before interest payments to interest payments falling below 2.5x;
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Weighted average FCF margin falling below -3%.
RATING COMPONENTS
Standalone creditworthiness assessment (SCA): a+.
Support: none.
ISSUE RATINGS
There are no outstanding issues.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURE
The credit rating has been assigned to MKOOO “Sodruzhestvo Rus” based on the following methodologies: the Methodology for Assigning Credit Ratings to Non-Financial Corporations under the National Scale for the Russian Federation to calculate the SCA and determine the credit rating and the credit rating outlook of MKOOO “Sodruzhestvo Rus” under the national scale for the Russian Federation and the Key Concepts Used by the Analytical Credit Rating Agency within the Scope of Its Rating Activities to ensure consistent and uniform application of ACRA’s methodologies, models, and key rating assumptions.
A credit rating of MKOOO “Sodruzhestvo Rus” assigned under the national scale for the Russian Federation has been published for the first time.
The credit rating and its outlook are expected to be revised within one year.
The credit rating was assigned based on data provided by MKOOO “Sodruzhestvo Rus”, information from publicly available sources, and ACRA’s own databases. The rating analysis was performed using the IFRS accounting (financial) statements of MKOOO “Sodruzhestvo Rus” as of June 30, 2025.
The credit rating is solicited and MKOOO “Sodruzhestvo Rus” participated in its assignment.
In assigning the credit rating, ACRA used only information, the quality and reliability of which were, in ACRA’s opinion, appropriate and sufficient to apply the methodologies.
ACRA provided no additional services to MKOOO “Sodruzhestvo Rus” during the year preceding the rating action.
No conflicts of interest were discovered in the course of credit rating assignment.
