In 2021, revenue went up 74.1% to RUB 57.2 billion, primarily driven by an increase in the gross harvest in the Field Crops segment, an effective sales strategy in the Agrotrading segment and the intensive development of international agrotrading, as well as the launch of the Niche Crops Trading business line. Revenue growth was also supported by increased milk production in the Dairy segment and the development of new business lines including production of packaged cheese and distribution of dairy products and plant-based alternatives. 

OIBDA was up 54.1% to RUB 14.4 billion, mainly due to improved operational efficiency and higher crop yields, upward price trends for the sale of agricultural products, improved performance in international agrotrading, expansion of the herd of high-yield dairy cattle and an increase in gross yield, as well as the development of new business lines.

In 2021, Steppe’s adjusted net profit increased by 92.0% to RUB 7.5 billion.

Steppe AgroHolding is among Russia’s top 10 grain exporters. The company’s total exports in the 2019–2020 crop year exceeded 1.1 mln tonnes, and total sales in calendar year 2020 reached 1.2 tonnes..

The company’s main focus within the segment has been on enhancing operations and rolling out a high-efficiency trading strategy. Strong performance in the international trading segment combined with a GAFTA accreditation as a first-rate grain trader and partnerships with leading global traders pave the way for the evolution into a global grain trader with extended presence in the international markets..

Sugar & grocery trading allows Steppe to unlock considerable synergies with the crop farming business while also ramping up the output of prepackaged branded produce.

In 2020, sales in the segment totalled 330 thsd tonnes, up 7% (or 23 thsd tonnes) year-on-year. The aptly chosen “time arbitrage” strategy delivered a significant growth across financial performance parameters.

In 2020, Steppe increased the area of owned farmland to 565 thsd ha (up from 416 thsd ha a year earlier), having formed a new production cluster in the north of the Rostov region and acquired more land in the Stavropol region. 

Despite the unseasonably harsh agro-climatic conditions of 2020, the company leveraged innovations so as to avoid harvest losses.

Dairy farming is Steppe’s second largest line of business that greatly contributes to both diversification and vertical integration. As of the end of 2020, the company had 6,587 lactating cows, up 14% year-on-year. The total milk yield in 2020 was up 25% year-on-year, to 71.4 thsd tonnes.

The company further increased focus on productivity and technology advancements at dairy farms. This included the construction of a megafarm in the Krasnodar region, the future home of some 3 thsd cows scheduled for launch in the first half of 2021, and the upgrades of another megafarm in the Krasnodar region (with some 9 thsd cows) purchased in 2020.