This year, KSG Agro will build an energy complex in Dnipro region that will include a solar power plant, an energy storage system, and a gas cogeneration unit, the company’s press service reports.
“It is expected that the project of the energy complex will be implemented according to the zero investment concept proposed by EnergyInvest HUB. This means that KSG Agro will not spend significant equity capital on the construction of a solar station: the main investments will be made by external financial partners,” the agricultural holding said.
According to the company, thanks to this model, the agricultural holding will receive cheaper electricity and heat without the need for capital investment in the project.
According to the report, the capacity of the solar station will be 0.5 MW. A 1 MWh energy storage system will ensure the accumulation of excess solar generation during the day, and a 0.8 MW gas plant will generate the necessary energy in the evening and at night or work as a backup. The combined system will be centrally managed through an EMS (Energy Management System).
The construction of the complex is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.
The agricultural holding is convinced that the energy complex built according to this scheme will provide the company with the necessary margin of safety and predictability. Increasing the level of energy autonomy will help prevent the negative consequences associated with power outages.
An important aspect of energy independence is the ability to avoid a significant rise in electricity prices, which significantly affects the growth of agricultural production costs, KSG Agro explains. The economic effect of the construction of the energy complex is expected to allow it to reduce the price of electricity consumed by about 20% of the market price.
“The difficult situation in the Ukrainian energy market leads not only to interruptions in electricity supply but also to its rise in price, which significantly affects the growth of agricultural production costs. That is why financing renewable energy sources, in particular solar energy, is very important for farmers,” explained Sergiy Kasyanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the agricultural holding.
He noted that the construction of an energy complex with a solar power plant provides significant benefits in several business dimensions at once: energy autonomy, energy efficiency, increased profitability and greening of agricultural production.
“Add to this the fact that the cost of solar power plants has been decreasing in recent years, and their commissioning leads to minimal interference with the company’s power grid. In addition, such a station allows us to connect more load than the company’s usual load, which actually stabilizes the grid voltage,” Kasyanov said.
KSG Agro started implementing alternative power supply projects in the spring of 2022. So far, about 10 generators with a capacity of 100 to 250 kW each and a total capacity of 1.5 MW have been installed in its farms and headquarters. KSG Agro has also provided the local community with a generator, as its water supply system supplies water to both the community and the agricultural holding’s pig farm.
KSG Agro is a vertically integrated holding company engaged in pig farming, as well as the production, storage, processing and sale of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank in Dnipropetrovska and Khersonska oblasts is about 21 thousand hectares.
According to the agricultural holding, it is one of the top five pork producers in Ukraine. In 2023, it launched a “network-centric” strategy, which will shift from developing a large location to a number of smaller pig farms located in different regions of Ukraine.
In January-September 2023, KSG Agro received $1,336 million in net profit, which is almost 14 times more than in the same period in 2022. Its EBITDA for the three quarters increased by 67% to $4.5 million, and its profit from sales increased by 16% to $11.9 million.
In the first quarter of 2024, it decreased net profit by 37% to $0.96 million on a 2% decrease in revenue to $5.02 million. Its EBITDA decreased by 2% to $1.83 million.
International home furnishing chain JYSK on Thursday opened stores updated to the 3.0 concept in Kyiv and Uman, said Country Director of JYSK Ukraine Yevhen Ivanitsa.
“Updating our stores to the JYSK 3.0 format is not just a change in design, but a qualitatively new level of comfort for our customers. We invest not only in space, but also in impressions – we create an atmosphere that inspires to equip a home with Scandinavian coziness. We are confident that these updates will make shopping in Kyiv and Uman even more convenient and every visit to the store a pleasant event,” commented Ivanitsa.
The JYSK 3.0 format provides for an updated approach to store design, with a modern design, improved navigation, full spotlighting and increased space.
In particular, the store located in the April City shopping center (Kyiv, 19A Lesya Kurbasa Ave.) has increased both the sales and warehouse space, which allowed to expand the range of goods and improve logistics processes. The new retail space is 947 square meters, office space is 36 square meters, and warehouse space is 302 square meters. This JYSK store has been operating in Kyiv since 2014, and in November it celebrated its 10th anniversary.
The JYSK store in Uman (31a Velyka Fontanna St.) has increased its warehouse space at the expense of the sales area. The total area of the store is now 878 square meters, including 254 square meters of warehouse space and 47.83 square meters of office space.
Currently, JYSK Ukraine has 104 stores in 37 cities and the online store jysk.ua. JYSK in Ukraine has more than 800 employees.
JYSK is part of the family-owned Lars Larsen Group with more than 3.4 thousand stores in 48 countries.
JYSK’s revenue in the financial year 2023/24 amounted to EUR 5.6 billion.
In the European Union, 3.67 million children were born in 2023, according to the EU Statistical Office (Eurostat). This is 5.4% lower than in 2022, when the number of newborns was 3.88 million.
The figure is the lowest since data collection began in 1961, and the year-on-year drop was also a record for this period. The highest number of children was born in 1964 – 6.8 million.
In 2023, the total fertility rate (the average number of children born per woman in her lifetime) fell to a record low of 1.38, compared to 1.46 the previous year.
Source: https://t.me/relocationrs/593
The Czech Republic will take part in six public investment projects to modernize Ukrainian medical institutions.
According to the Ministry of Health, the European Commission has now agreed on projects to modernize the Lviv Regional Hospital for War Veterans and the Repressed, Rivne Regional Hospital for War Veterans, Volyn Regional Clinical Hospital, Kryvyi Rih City Hospital #5, Dnipro City Clinical Hospital #16, and Kyiv Regional Children’s Hospital.
The Ministry of Health notes that the Czech Republic is a member of the Ukraine Facility program and is potentially ready to finance the reconstruction and modernization of 13 hospitals in seven regions of Ukraine.
So far, Russians have damaged 1984 medical facilities and destroyed another 301. According to the World Bank, the reconstruction needs in Ukraine’s healthcare sector over the next 10 years amount to $19.4 billion.
Since the start of the full-scale war, the Czech Foreign Ministry has allocated EUR 4.3 million for medical equipment and machinery for Ukrainian hospitals, ambulances, buses, and communications equipment for medical units.
Ukraine has supplied an additional 3,850 tons of wheat flour to Syria as part of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s humanitarian program Grain From Ukraine, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.
“Together with 500 tons in December, this will provide 60 thousand Syrians for six months,” he wrote on social networking site X.
Sybiga assured that Ukraine continues to support the Syrian people and food security in the Middle East.
PJSC “Meridian” named after Korolyov” (Kyiv), a part of the state concern ‘Ukroboronprom’, plans to allocate 30% or 70% of its net profit of UAH 11 million for dividends in 2024.
These two draft resolutions on dividend payments are on the agenda of the general meeting of shareholders scheduled for April 17.
If 30% of the net profit is allocated to dividends, they will be accrued in the amount of UAH 3.27 per share of UAH 0.5 par value, and 70% – UAH 7.65 per share.
The dividends are to be paid by July 1 this year.
As reported, in 2023, Meridian paid dividends to shareholders of UAH 11 million (90% of net profit of UAH 12.205 million) at the rate of UAH 10.90 per share.
According to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), as of the third quarter of 2024, the state, represented by Ukroboronprom, owns 50%+1 share of PJSC Meridian named after Korolyov, and another 40.0753% is owned by Meridian Soyuz LLC, one of the beneficiaries of which, according to Clarity Project, is Vadym Hryb, co-owner of the Tekt investment company.
At the meeting, the shareholders also plan to change the type of company from a public joint-stock company (PJSC) to a joint-stock company (JSC) and re-elect the supervisory board, terminating the powers of the previous six-member board.
“Founded in 1953, Meridian is a diversified enterprise specializing in the development and serial production of electronic devices for various purposes, including radio measuring instruments: frequency meters, spectrum analyzers, and generators.
The company also performs galvanizing, laser cutting of metals, and plastic molding.
According to Clarity Project, the company increased its net revenue by 24% in 2023 to UAH 177.43 million, while net profit decreased by 27% to UAH 12.2 million.
