New CEO Kirill Levin of Rosgeologia: Background, Previous Roles, Financial Struggles, and Recent Developments
Kirill Levin, high-ranking official at Rosselhozbank, now takes leadership role at "Rosgeology"
Background:
Kirill Levin was recently appointed as the CEO of Rosgeologia, the Russian state geological exploration company. With a degree in "Economics and Management of Scientific Research and Design" from the Moscow Aviation Institute named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze, Levin has significant experience in the energy and natural resources sectors, having worked at Gazprombank, Renaissance Capital, Sberbank, and Aeroflot, among others. From 2010 to 2018, he served on the boards of Aeroflot and FSK "EES," and was Deputy Chairman of the Board of RSKH before becoming First Deputy Chairman.
Previous Roles:
Before joining Rosgeologia, Levin held several senior executive and managerial roles, often within state-run or affiliated industrial companies. His experience includes leadership roles in geological surveying and resource exploration companies, positions in firms involved in oil, gas, and mineral extraction industries, and strategic management roles focused on optimizing operational efficiency and expanding exploration projects.
Financial Struggles:
Rosgeologia, under its previous leadership, has faced several financial challenges. In 2024, the company's revenue fell by 2.4% to 24.4 billion rubles, and its net loss increased sharply from 5.8 billion to 8.8 billion rubles. These factors led to a significant increase in Rosgeologia's interest expenses, reaching 5.141 billion rubles in 2024. The decline in Rosgeologia's performance was attributed to underutilization of geological exploration capacity, rising prices for services, restrictions on asset operations, and an increase in the central bank's key rate.
Recent Developments:
In an effort to address these financial challenges, Rosgeologia has requested various forms of state support. These requests include a subsidy of 1.5 billion rubles per year to cover losses from idle research vessels, a capital injection of 25 billion rubles, and a proposed subsidy of 5 billion rubles per year to cover interest on loans. Unfortunately, Rosgeologia defaulted on a payment of 6 billion rubles worth of classic bonds in October 2024, due to lack of funds to fulfill obligations. Since then, several more defaults have occurred, with the latest occurring at the end of April. In May last year, Rosgeologia sought state support, stating that without it, annual losses could reach 17 billion rubles.
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In his new role as CEO of Rosgeologia, Kirill Levin aims to navigate the challenges of the finance-intensive resources industry, as the exploration company grapples with recent financial struggles such as increased interest expenses, a steep rise in net losses, and operational difficulties including underutilization of geological exploration capacity. To address these issues, Levin may need to seek help from the government, as Rosgeologia has requested various forms of support, like annual subsidies and capital injections, in an attempt to stabilize the business.
