Vesting of the 2015 performance share plan awards

Polymetal announces that 2015 share awards under the Company’s Performance Share Plan (“PSP”), part of the Company’s Long-Term Incentive Plan, have vested.

During the four-year performance period ending 29 April 2019 for the PSP awards made in 2015, Polymetal achieved a positive absolute Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) of 56.1% and outperformed a median TSR of 34.8% of the FTSE Gold Mines Index constituents. As a result, Polymetal ranked 15^th by TSR out of 42 index participants.

Accordingly, the 2015 performance share awards have partially vested with 32.1% of the total awards being granted, which includes 27.1% vesting percentage based on the TSR performance and additional share awards for the dividend equivalent paid during the 4-year performance period.

649,431 ordinary shares were issued and distributed to 263 participants of the PSP on 30 April 2019, representing 0.14% of the Company’s increased share capital. The newly issued shares have a market value of US$6.8 million, based on the closing price as of 30 April 2019.

“2019 is the second year of PSP awards vesting, and I would like to thank all Company’s employees for their contribution. Polymetal continues to deliver meaningful shareholder returns and to outperform its peers”, said Vitaly Nesis, Group CEO of Polymetal.

Performance Share Plan

Under the PSP, awards are released following a four-year performance period (with an additional mandatory holding period of one year following vesting), subject to certain performance measures being met. The vesting of awards is based on the Company’s TSR measured against the TSR of the FTSE Gold Mines Index constituents, as well as the Company’s absolute TSR over the same performance period. The vesting conditions were set as follows:

• 0% vests for below median performance;

• 20% vests at median performance;

• 100% vests at top decile performance and above; and

• Straight line vesting in between median and top decile.

• No award vests if an absolute TSR is negative even if performance is above median.

No consideration is payable for the vesting of the awards by the beneficiaries. In certain cases of Good Leaver Circumstances, the award will usually vest as normal in accordance with the terms of the award. Alternatively, the Board may determine that the award will vest immediately. For more details on the PSP, please see Polymetal’s 2018 Annual Report and Accounts available on the Company’s website at www.polymetalinternational.com. Further to the 2015 award vesting, shares transferred to the Group CEO and Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibilities (“PDMRs”) are presented in the table below: 

Further to the 2015 award vesting, outstanding awards under the PSP are:

Applications have been submitted to the London Stock Exchange and UKLA on the official list and awarded shares are expected to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange on 7 May 2019. The total issued share capital of the Company will comprise 470,155,459 ordinary shares of no par value, each carrying one vote.