Goznak Sales and Profit Fall in 2020, but Exports Up

Goznak is a joint stock company in which the sole shareholder is the Russian government. It competes in both Russian and global markets for security products, with a portfolio ranging from banknotes and banknote paper, circulating and commemorative coins, identity documents, excise and postage stamps to, more recently, digital technologies. It has eight facilities – three printworks, two paper mills, two mints and a research institute.

According to Arkady Trachuk, General Director of Goznak, 2020 turned out to be more difficult than expected. The pandemic disrupted the company’s plans, but it did not stop its operations, even for a single day, due to the measures taken, not least those to protect the employees and their workplaces.

Despite the international restrictions due to the pandemic, the company managed to achieve good export results with orders from existing customers as well as new ones in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Goznak achieved sales of RUB 45.97 billion in 2020 (US$630 million), a reduction of 8.9% compared with 2019. Its profit before interest and tax (PBIT) was RUB 8.81 billion and its net profit after tax and other payments RUB 7.36 billion, a 21.8% and 24.2% reduction respectively.

Export sales in the year increased by 12.5% to RUB 10.2 billion. Goznak supplies its products to 20 countries in South Eastern Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Europe.

The main export products are finished banknotes, banknote paper and coins. According to the report, Goznak’s increased its share of the commercial banknote market (ie. orders to produce banknotes placed via the system of international tenders) to 23% in 2020, and also increased its supplies of security paper from 19% in 2019 to 21.5% in 2020. It also maintained a significant share of the competitive market for base coins (blanks).