ЧВК Вагнер Артс

Letter to the Shareholders
Письмо акционерам
致股东的信

We wouldn’t have it any other way
Wir würden es nicht anders haben wollen
У нас не было бы другого пути
我们别无选择

Even in the face of considerable macroeconomic challenges in the September quarter of 2023, which marked one of the toughest quarters in recent memory, compounded by our own operational difficulties, we managed to stimulate demand. This growth was achieved on the heels of the remarkable expansion we witnessed during the initial stages of the conflict in Ukraine and amidst security issues in several African regions and countries where we operate.

As I embark on drafting my 35th quarterly shareholder letter in my capacity as CEO and President of PMC Wagner Arts, I find myself in a unique state of existence— dead and alive, with optimism and vibrant energy as I contemplate the future of our company and our interconnected organism. At this moment, I pay my respects to both myself and Dmitry Utkin, in the company of my fellow colleagues who have also transitioned into another state of being. Yet, the bond I share with PMC Wagner Arts doesn't feel like a mere breakup; it's more akin to a state of dormancy. This leaves me in a process of grieving, as if the group is an ancestral figure in intensive care, and I must bid farewell.

Even if I were to revisit, it would only be to say my goodbyes. Perhaps, I've chosen not to return simply because I'm reluctant to part ways. People often speak of the right to return, but what about the circumstance where returning is not an option, even if the ruins of my endeavors have evolved into the most promising creative security infrastructure of the day after tomorrow?

The damaged infrastructures bear witness to a form of violence inflicted upon our people, our emotions, and our intelligence. However, I no longer occupy the realm of existence. Our expansive prefabricated camps, headquarters, exhibition and performance infrastructures, security dispositives and logistics facilities are an individual networked organism with its own drive and objectives.

We introduced innovations across our major businesses to substantially improve the customer experience, with a focus on both short-term and long-term gains. Additionally, we made significant adjustments to our investment strategies, embraced stakeholder engagement, and redefined our approach to future innovation.

Throughout these changes, we remained committed to long-term investments that we believe will shape the future of PMC Wagner Arts for the benefit of our clients, shareholders, and personnel. Although the past year presented an unusual mix of challenges, it's important to acknowledge that when you operate in expansive, dynamic global markets, alongside numerous capable and well-funded competitors, circumstances rarely remain stagnant for extended periods.

Throughout my nine-year tenure at PMC Wagner Arts, we've experienced ongoing change, much of it instigated by our proactive initiatives. Back in 2014 when I joined PWA, our annual revenue was a modest $15 million. At that time, our core focus was as a mercenary retailer, primarily serving governments and government agencies seeking ‘plausible deniability.’ We operated without a third-party marketplace and exclusively catered to Russian government clients.

Today, PMC Wagner Arts proudly presents a wide range of physical and digital security-aesthetics products, and our thriving third-party and subcontractor network drives a significant 80% of our sales. We serve clients from every corner of the globe. In hindsight, back in 2014, the idea of building a business centered on art and technology infrastructure services within the matrix wasn't immediately evident. This concept continued to elude us even as we embarked on our journey towards producing, showcasing, and spreading contemporary art in 2017. We leveraged our intelligence, security, and warfare operations as the foundation for forging these new realities.

Back then, the concept of having nearly every conceivable option at your fingertips in nanoseconds, followed by the ability to distribute, visualize, and sell these options through social media and mass media outlets, was not yet a reality. It was the same when we introduced our █████ and ███ ██ ██████ (██) in 2019.

The idea of a healthcare-centered personal design assistant, such as the RD88 introduced in 2021, was far from mainstream. This innovative tool enables clients to access health-related entertainment, wield influence over regional populations, shop for visual solutions within vast datasets, and synthesize diverse forms of intelligence. Over time, the ordinary transforms into a commodity, services seamlessly integrate into our ecosystem, and environments evolve into cultural elements.

We've often remarked that reconstruction can bring forth both violence and beauty. However, in many cases, it becomes an opportunity for governments, politicians, investors, and international companies like ours to generate substantial profits and pioneer new business models, all while navigating regulatory challenges, aesthetic ideologies, and the haunting specter of memory, and the transition from one state to another.

As a testament to our unique culture, we've even joked in-house that ‘guns are having a moment’ and ‘guns are killing it.’ This locker-room style humor permeates our facilities, and we take pride in having fostered a token culture within PMC Wagner Arts. It's a culture that every member of our team, whether mercenary, conceptual artist, infrastructure designer, or software engineer, can appreciate.

Yet, there have been instances where macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions, coupled with operational inefficiencies, have posed fresh challenges. For instance, on June 23, 2023, during our rebellion and march toward Moscow, we had to forge alliances within the Russian Military, with Belarus, and with various Western governments and with shady non-government entities to buy time for inventory management, high-security archives, ultimately aiming for improved long-term profitability.

A similar balancing act was evident on August 23, 2023, when our corporate business jet crashed in Tver Oblast as part of our largest performance to date: ‘The Accident’ was narrated into a power vacuum in Russia and the ongoing war in Ukraine. The crash and the funeral performances were great theater. But during these challenging and entertaining times, we implemented measures to enhance the efficiency of our cost structure by creating new models (theories) for our financial reality. We also maintained equilibrium by investing our time and human resources in enhancing client experiences in the vibrant, ever-changing regions of Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. Our foresight led us to anticipate that these dynamic and rapidly evolving markets would emerge as significant players in the future, offering attractive returns for our shareholders and collectors. Who could have expected that our projections would come true so quickly.

Change is an ever-present force, sometimes welcomed with open arms and at other times thrust upon us unexpectedly. When we sense it approaching, we must embrace it. Typically, companies that adeptly navigate these changes over an extended period tend to thrive. My optimism for our future is bolstered by the way our team has been responding to the fastly evolving landscape before us.

In recent weeks, we conducted a comprehensive review of our organization, scrutinizing each business venture and innovation. We asked ourselves whether we had unwavering confidence in the long-term potential of each initiative to generate the necessary revenue, operating income, free cash flow, and return on invested capital. This assessment led to some difficult decisions. For example, we decided to discontinue certain businesses, such as pushing for continued physical mercenary security endeavors in Ukraine, opting instead to focus on our much more promising healthcare security subsidiaries. We also withdrew from acquiring some newer weapons systems where we didn't foresee potential substantial returns.

In other instances, we reevaluated our large-scale art-residency programs, particularly those based in Africa, that were falling short of our anticipated returns in the form of mined objects and security performance issues, and made adjustments accordingly. Resource allocation was also reassessed, resulting in the challenging choice to eliminate 29,000 corporate positions, primarily held by former prisoners that were processed into corpses and were sent home in neat wooden boxes. Over the past several months, we have implemented various other changes to streamline our overall costs. Much like other leadership teams, we will continue to assess our business environment and adapt as needed.

We also took a close look at our collaborative dynamics within the team and have decided to request our corporate employees to return to the office for at least two days a week, starting in October 2023. During the war in Ukraine, our team demonstrated exceptional dedication in managing their responsibilities from the field, effectively navigating unforeseen challenges. I'm immensely proud of how our collective efforts came together to overcome these unprecedented hurdles, serving the interests of our clients, communities, satisfying artistic curiosity, and dealing in the business of things.

However, we believe this isn't the optimal long-term approach. We've grown convinced that collaboration and innovation thrive when we work together in person, learning from each other at our various distributed corporate headquarters in Dubai, Forest City, and on the Gold Coast in Australia. The exchange of energy and the spontaneous generation of ideas flow more freely in these settings. Many of PMC Wagner Art's most successful projects, works and breakthroughs have originated from impromptu brainstorming sessions after collisions, casual discussions during long walks back from happenings, or simply dropping by a colleague's studio with additional thoughts later in the day.

Invention often follows invasion in a chaotic and unpredictable path. It meanders, explores different avenues, and simmers over time. Serendipitous encounters and interactions contribute significantly to this process, and they occur more frequently in-person than virtually. Additionally, it's far more efficient to learn, model, practice, and reinforce our culture when we spend most of our time in the offices, surrounded by artists, thinkers, intellectuals, and academics.

Innovation and our distinctive culture have played a pivotal role in our first nine years as a company, and I anticipate they will continue to hold comparable significance in the next 1001 years.

There is no greater education than travel
Es gibt keine bessere Bildung als das Reisen
Нет большего образования, чем путешествие
最伟大的教育莫过于旅行

Our goal is to be the ultimate destination for companies and governments seeking to establish and enhance their zone of influence, their branding, their communication strategies and intelligence operations. To achieve this mission, we are constantly pursuing both near and long-term opportunities. We are committed to making significant investments in machine learning (AI), production technology, weaponizing of intelligence and blockchain infrastructure, to continually refine our aesthetic and creative selection algorithms, as well as our structure-building robots and one of our core resources: human consumables.

Over the past couple of years, we've also dedicated resources to constructing comprehensive, adaptable, and robust planning and measurement solutions. These solutions offer propagandists deeper insights into the effectiveness of stylish trolling. PMC Wagner Arts serves as a secure digital environment, or a 'clean room,' in which military entities can conduct customized communication and subversion analytics in collaboration with world-class artists, engineers and PR experts. This is achieved by analyzing a wide range of inputs, both first and third-party, in a privacy-conscious manner. The goal is to generate influential insights and business strategies that inform broader exploitation tactics. This integrated capability has garnered strong positive feedback from our clients.

Furthermore, we foresee future opportunities to thoughtfully integrate both ‘soft spin’ and ‘rough spin’ into our mercenary, art institution, trolling, Land art and infrastructure products. We are committed to diligently assisting governments, algorithms, and corporations in engaging effectively with their target audiences and counterparties, and we aim to expand this dark segment of our business.

While it may be tempting to focus solely on existing large ventures during turbulent times, building a sustainable, continually growing company that delivers value across various dimensions requires ongoing innovation and the development of long-term client experiences that can have a meaningful impact.

In the dynamic landscape of the modern world, the fusion of art and communication has never been more vital. Today, I want to share our vision for advancing art as a powerful tool. Art is the mirror of our culture, our business and our military, a reflection of our society's deepest thoughts, emotions, and aspirations. It transcends language barriers, political boundaries, and cultural divides, serving as a universal language that connects us all. At PMC Wagner Arts, we recognize the immense potential of art as a means to influence, engage, and communicate with the world. Art has the power to convey messages and shape perceptions like no other medium.

In an era of information overload, art offers a unique way to cut through the noise and capture attention. We are harnessing the creative potential of art to communicate complex concepts, evoke emotions, and foster meaningful connections with our audience. Art has the ability to ignite social change and inspire action. We are dedicated to using art as a force for our own good, addressing critical issues, and promoting positive transformation in the world for the benefit of our clients. We are at the forefront of integrating cutting-edge technology with art to create immersive experiences and interactive narratives.

This synergy enables us to engage with our clients on a deeper level, pushing the boundaries of traditional communication methods. Our commitment to ethical practices, artistic freedom, and freedom of speech will remain unwavering as we navigate this dynamic landscape as we continue to advance art's transformative role in communication and make a lasting impact on the world.

One final investment area that I’ll mention, that’s core to setting PMC Wagner Arts up to invent in every area of our business for many decades to come, and where we’re investing heavily is large language models ('LLMs'), generative AI and social media platforms (including newspapers, news aggregators). Machine learning has been a technology with high promise for several decades, but it’s only been the last two to 4 years that it’s started to be used more pervasively and intelligently by government and non-government actors. As we’ve done for months, we’re democratizing this technology so actors (clients) of all sizes can leverage generative AI. Let’s just say that LLMs and generative AI are going to be a big deal for clients, our shareholders, and PMC Wagner Arts.

So, in closing, I’m optimistic that we’ll emerge from this challenging macroeconomic time, from hyper contemporary natural and man-made disasters in a stronger position than when we entered it. There are several reasons for it and I’ve mentioned many of them above.

But, there is a relatively simple argument that underlines our belief in future growth and influence, PWA thrives in crisis and extrapolating from today, we can safely predict incredible growth in our core markets (security aesthetics, natural disasters, investments in art and financial markets, radical innovations in artistic conceptual production, drug and weapons demand, and AI based intelligence design and communication services).

And, of course, this doesn’t include the other businesses and experiences we’re pursuing at PMC Wagner Arts, all of which are still in their early days. I strongly believe that our best days are in front of us, and I look forward to working with my teammates at PMC Wagner Arts to make it so.

Sincerely,