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PPF Group lost hundreds of millions of euros due to leaving Russian market — CEO

Jiri Smeits believes that the group's exit from the Russian market, despite the deterioration of last year's financial results, was the right decision to take because of the actions of Russia in Ukraine

PRAGUE, 23 June. /TASS/. PPF Group, an international investment and financial group founded in 1991 by Czech businessman Petr Kellner, lost hundreds of millions of euros due to withdrawal from the Russian market after February 24, 2022. CEO Jiri Smeits said this to reporters on Friday, commenting on the results of PPF Group's activities in 2022.

"If it weren’t for the [financial] losses associated with the [group’s] departure from Russia, which were in the amount of hundreds of millions of euros, we would have received more profit than before the [beginning] of the [pandemic] covid period," he said.

Nevertheless, he expressed satisfaction with the group's financial results for the past year. The net profit of PPF Group amounted to 140 million euros.

"The results [over the past year] show the strength and resilience of the group. We, fortunately, [implemented] well-diversified [projects]. This protected us [in the face of] a difficult geopolitical situation," Smeits said. The CEO of PPF Group believes that the group's exit from the Russian market, despite the deterioration of last year's financial results, was the right decision to take because of the actions of Russia in Ukraine.

At the end of 2022, PPF Group's profit decreased by 49% compared to 2021. The volume of assets it owns decreased by 5.5% year-on-year. They are estimated at a total of 39.9 billion euros.

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