Nornickel is the only Russian company on the annual Forbes’ Top-100 Most Innovative list.

The list is a ranking of companies investors think will create profitable new ideas. The assessment is based on innovation premium — the difference between capitalisation and discounted cash flow — which reflects the growth potential. To be included on the list, firms need seven years of public financial data and USD 10 bn in market cap.

The strategy of Nornickel — the global leader in palladium and high grade nickel production — is focused on the development of Tier-1 assets, upgrade of the existing capacities and launch of new facilities for a more efficient, environmentally-friendly and safe production process. Nornickel’s portfolio has a number of promising growth projects seeking to develop the vast reserves of non-ferrous and precious metals in the Norilsk Industrial District. The company is committed to digitisation of every production stage, with Technology Breakthrough programme introduced in 2015 to digitise and automate most processes by 2020. It is currently implemented by over 50%.

This year’s Forbes #1 World’s Most Innovative Company is ServiceNow, a company providing IT support automation solutions. Workday, a cloud service to track finance and HR resources, scores the second. Top-10 also includes Netflix, Incyte, Hindustan Unilever, Naver and Facebook, and only two non-American companies — India-based cosmetics company Hindustan Unilever and South Korean search engine Naver.

Nornickel among World’s Most Innovative Companies, says Forbes