A Russian branch of Mothercare
(Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images)The corporate boycott of Russia over war in Ukraine gathered pace today, at the same time as a string of Russian businesses listed in London were forced to reassure investors over sanctions.
Mothercare and tobacco giant Imperial Brands today became the latest businesses to quit Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Mothercare said it was immediately suspending all operations in the country, forgoing half a million pounds in profits per month. It has 120 stores in Russia, accounting for around 25% of sales. Its stock dropped 1.5p to 12p.
Golden Virginia maker Imperial Brands said it would halt production at its factory in Volgograd and was ceasing all sales and marketing activity in Russia. Local employees will continue to be paid for now.
McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, KFC and Universal Music have all quit Russia in recent days amid pressure from politicians and consumers.
Russian commodity businesses Evraz, Polymetal and Petropavlovsk were today forced to reassure investors in London about their positions. All released statements saying they were unaffected by sanctions despite Russian shareholders and operations.
Oligarch Roman Abramovich owns just under a third of steel giant Evraz, while Russian bosses Alexander Abramov and Aleksandr Frolov own another third.
The board today said they “cannot be certain as to whether such individuals are ‘connected with Russia’ for the purposes” of sanctions but would assume not until told otherwise.
Abramovich, who is in the process of selling Chelsea FC, has faced calls from MPs to be included in UK sanctions.
Russian gold miners Polymetal and Petropavlovsk — 49.9% owned by Russians — said they were unaffected by measures and reassured investors that their operations were continuing as normal.
Polymetal still intends to pay a recently announced $246 million dividend but admitted Russian capital controls have made it “unclear” whether it will be able to transfer cash to foreign investors.
Evraz, Polymetal and Petropavlovsk all said the war in Ukraine had made sourcing supplies more difficult but said they are working to address the issues.
Shares in all three businesses have collapsed by more than 80% in recent weeks but rallied today.
Elsewhere, credit rating agency Fitch downgraded Russia’s government debt amid fears about a possible default.
Oil remained near 14-year highs today as uncertainty abounds.
