Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, has 11% of its employees aged 60+ and is working to increase this ratio to 20%, said Viktor Ivanchyk, SEO and owner of the agricultural holding.
“Astarta companies employ 11% of people aged 60+. We are working to increase this ratio to 20%. I am confident that this 20% will play no less of a role than the other 80%,” he said at the presentation of the study ‘Active Longevity in Ukraine: A Study of the Current Status and Barriers’ in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Ivanchyk drew attention to the fact that one of the main sources of ageism in companies is young employees working in HR departments.
He expressed a wish that HR departments, the Presidential Office, and the Cabinet of Ministers would also take this important factor into account and urged them to hire and recommend experienced people for responsible positions.
As an illustrative example, he cited the plot of the movie “The Intern” with the main character played by Robert De Niro.
“There should be much more such interns at both the state and business levels,” the Astarta SEO is confident.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine. It comprises six sugar refineries, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
“In 2024, Astarta increased its net profit by 34.5% to EUR83.25 million, while its consolidated revenue decreased by 1.1% to EUR612.15 million.
In the first quarter of this year, the agricultural holding’s revenue fell by 24.9% to EUR124.58 million, while net profit fell by 28.8% to EUR6.42 million.
On June 12 this year, the shareholders’ meeting approved the payment of dividends for 2024 in the amount of EUR0.5 per share for a total of EUR12.5 million, which is in line with the previous two years.
