In the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, Kernel processed 816 thousand tons of sunflower seeds, up 10% year-on-year.
According to the company’s announcement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Tuesday, six crushing plants of the agricultural holding operated at almost full capacity, while two plants were idle due to the proximity to the Russian border and the war zone.
In addition, at the end of February, Kernel started commissioning the Starokonstantinovka oilseed processing plant in Khmelnytsky region. At the time of writing, the plant has reached over 90% of its processing capacity at the commissioning stage. The plant is expected to be fully operational by May 2024 and reach its maximum processing capacity of 1 million tons of sunflower seeds annually.
At the same time, sales of sunflower oil in January-March 2024 increased by 44% year-on-year to 394 thsd tonnes, totaling 1,103 thsd tonnes in 9M2024.
Sales of bottled sunflower oil in the third quarter of FY2024 amounted to 5% of total sales (19 thousand tons).
Kernel emphasized that the volume of loading of the group’s granaries in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024 was at a seasonally low level – 254 thousand tons, which amounted to 2.7 million tons for 9 months of fiscal year 2024, which corresponds to the same period last year.
The export terminal’s transshipment volume for the reporting period increased to 2,464 thsd tonnes of grain, sunflower oil and meal, which showed a 2.3-fold increase. This was driven by consistent export activity via the Black Sea, increased volumes of sunflower oil produced, transshipment through port terminals acquired earlier in the season, along with the provision of transshipment services to third parties.
Despite the high transshipment volumes of the terminals, the volume of grain exports from Ukraine in January-March amounted to 1.877 thousand tons, which is 2.3 times more than in the same period last year, the company stated.
Before the war, Kernel Agro Holding was the world’s leading producer of sunflower oil (approximately 7% of global production) and its exports (approximately 12%). It is one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. In addition, it is engaged in the cultivation and sale of agricultural products.
Kernel’s net profit for FY2023 amounted to $299 million, while the company ended the previous year with a net loss of $41 million. The agricultural holding’s revenue for FY2023 decreased by 35% to $3.455 billion, but EBITDA increased 2.5 times to $544 million.
In the first half of FY2024, Kernel’s net profit fell 3.6 times compared to the first half of FY2023, to $102 million, and EBITDA halved to $223 million, with revenue down 16% to $1.59 billion.
