The share price of Ferrexpo plc, a mining company with major assets in Ukraine, fell by 25.5% to 80 pence after the stock exchange announced on February 4 that law enforcement agencies had filed a civil lawsuit against the company’s subsidiary Poltava Mining and Processing Plant (PGOK) and its CEO for damages in favor of the Ukrainian state in the amount of UAH 157 billion (about $3.76 billion).
According to the London Stock Exchange’s website, in the first minutes after the company published this information, the shares fell by more than half – by 52%, to 51.5 pence, but by the end of the day, after several ups and downs, their price rose to 80 pence.
Currently, the spread on the company’s shares has widened to 57 pence to buy and 130 pence to sell, according to the stock exchange. According to Ferrexpo’s February 4 publication, the company received information that the National Police completed a pre-trial investigation on January 16, 2025, into the sale of iron ore pellets and sent the case to the court of first instance.
“The initial charges of illegal sale of waste have been transformed into charges of illegal extraction and sale of subsoil (minerals other than iron ore), which allegedly caused environmental damage. The company completely rejects these allegations on the grounds that there was no illegal mining,” Ferrexpo said.
The company emphasized that the plant extracts iron ore under a mining license. The iron ore is then processed to produce iron ore pellets.
As a result of these processes, any waste that remains is disposed of in accordance with best mining practices and environmental standards. “Based on the information received by the Group and after consultations with
Ukrainian lawyers, PGOK believes that these accusations and claims are unfounded and intends to firmly defend its position in the Ukrainian courts,” Ferrexpo said and added that the Group’s operations remain unchanged.
Earlier it was reported that other investigative actions are being taken against the management of the Mining and Processing Plant. In particular, in September 2023, the National Police investigators notified Viktor Lotous, Chairman of the Board of the Mining and Processing Plant, of suspicion of illegal mining worth UAH 157 billion. Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine.
Ferrexpo owns 100% of shares in Poltava Mining, 100% of shares in Yeristovo Mining and 99.9% of shares in Bilanivsky Mining. Ferrexpo’s net profit for the first half of 2024 amounted to $54 million, up 104% compared to the first half of 2023, while revenue increased by 64% to $549 million. Over the past year, Ferrexpo’s share price has fluctuated between 38.15 pence and 124 pence, with a current capitalization of GBP478.5 million, although before the war, in the summer of 2021, during the global shortage of mining raw materials, the share price reached a maximum of 480.8 pence.
