OREANDA-NEWS. NLMK Group (LSE: NLMK), the largest steelmaker in Russia and one of the most efficient in the world, increased funding for social programmes in 2014 by 14% to RUB 2.9 billion.

NLMK Group’s Social Policy priorities remained unchanged in 2014, with a focus on providing comfortable and safe working conditions; supporting professional development and career growth; providing improved healthcare for NLMK employees and members of their families; organization of sporting and cultural events; and co-financing of supplementary private pension programmes.

Alexander Sokolov, NLMK Group Vice President for Social Issues, said:

“NLMK Group creates comfortable and safe working conditions for its employees and ensures a good standard of living for their families. This enables the Company to improve employee morale and, consequently, to increase production efficiency. As a result, in 2014 the Company achieved new performance records, as well as gains of approximately \$500 million over the last two years from operational efficiency programmes that did not require substantial investment.”

In 2014, funding for family and maternity support programmes, youth initiatives and welfare and education programmes reached 927 million rubles. For many years, NLMK has provided support for educational institutions in both organization of the education programme and creation of the conditions students require to receive a quality education. NLMK Group employees are involved in a wide range of educational programmes including professional mentoring, training in related professions and a variety of specialized courses and workshops. In 2014, approximately 13,000 workers attended educational programmes at Novolipetsk alone.

Over 800 million rubles was allocated for improvements in employees’ working conditions and disability and retirement benefits. Approximately 274 million rubles went towards healthcare for employees; whilst an additional 165 million rubles was used to provide treatment for NLMK Group employees and their families at healthcare resorts.

134 million rubles was used to co-finance supplementary private pension programmes for NLMK Group employees; whilst the company spent 87 million rubles on social support for retirees and disabled people.

In 2014, NLMK Group continues to fund employee housing programmes, with approximately 134 million rubles allocated in 2014 the bulk of which was used to fund the Housing for Young Steelmakers programme at NLMK’s Lipetsk production site; and the housing programme for employees at NLMK’s new next-generation plant, NLMK Kaluga. More than 100 million rubles was allocated for sporting and cultural initiatives.

NLMK donated more than 188 million rubles to the Miloserdiye charity fund for the support of vulnerable social groups, orphans and orphanage leavers; and retired citizens. The Miloserdiye charity fund was able to help more than 30,000 people in the Lipetsk region.

About NLMK Group

NLMK Group is the largest steelmaker in Russia and one of the most efficient in the world. NLMK’s high-quality metal products are used in various industries, from construction and engineering to the manufacture of power-generating equipment and offshore wind turbines.

NLMK's production assets are located in Russia, Europe, and the United States. The Company’s liquid steel production capacity is over 17 million tonnes per year, of which about 16 million tonnes are produced in Russia.

NLMK has the most competitive cash cost among global manufacturers; and one of the highest profitability levels in the sector. The Company generated \$5.4 billion in revenue, \$1.1 billion in EBITDA, and \$332 million in net profit in H1 2014.

NLMK’s ordinary shares are traded on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MICEX-RTS, ticker symbol: NLMK), and its global depositary shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: NLMK:LI).