OREANDA-NEWS. NLMK Group (LSE: NLMK), the largest steelmaker in Russia and one of the most efficient in the world, won in the Occupational Health and Safety nomination of the prestigious All-Russian Russian Business Leaders: Dynamics and Responsibility 2014 competition. The competition is held annually by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP).

2014 became the safest period in the history of NLMK Group. As a result of a new approach to occupational health and safety that NLMK Group has adopted, the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR per 1 million man-hours) has been reduced by 22% to 1.59 for the Group overall; including by 36% to 0.55 at NLMK Russian assets.

NLMK Director for Occupational Health and Safety Victor Togobetsky said: “Our goal is to become global leaders among steelmaking companies in occupational health and safety. We made radical changes to our OHS management system in 2014, introducing advanced practices; efficiently managing risks; and actively involving our personnel in OHS practice. As a result, the company has achieved all-time record OHS results. There were no fatalities at any of the Group’s Russian or international divisions in 2014, both among our own personnel and among our contractors.”

NLMK strives to be constantly increasing the well-being of employees, financing events and initiatives each year aimed at the continuous improvement of OHS and working conditions. The OHS budget has been increased by 330% over the past five years, reaching over 1.5 billion rubles in 2014. Over 30% of this funding went towards the purchase of new individual protective gear; and over 23% went towards ensuring facilities are as safe as possible.

NLMK Group implemented the new Operational efficiency is operational safety occupational health and safety policy in 2013. The goal of the policy is to reach world-class levels of safety and to become leaders in operational culture.

As part of the new strategy, a number of new occupational health and safety programmes were successfully implemented across all NLMK Group divisions in 2014. For instance, the Risk Management programme aimed at the identification and elimination of operational hazards; and the In Search of Safety programme aimed at helping workers develop a set a practical skills required to identify hazards independently.

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. During the first six months of 2014, the company generated \$5.4 billion in revenue; \$1,1 billion in EBITDA; and a net profit of \$332 million.

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