Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

“Knyazha VIG” collected UAH 2.5 bln in insurance premiums, up 26.4% year-on-year

In 2024, the insurance company Knyazha Vienne Insurance Group (Knyazha VIG, Kyiv) collected UAH 2.517 billion in insurance premiums, which is 26.36% more than in 2023.

This follows from the announcement of the rating agency Standard-Rating on the affirmation of the financial strength rating/credit rating of the insurer at uaAA+ for the period under review.

According to RA’s website, during the period under review, revenues from individuals increased by 25.89% to UAH 1.797 billion, and from reinsurers – by 55.04% to UAH 6.155 million. The share of individuals in the company’s gross written premiums amounted to 71.39%, and the share of reinsurers – 0.24%.

Insurance payments sent to reinsurers in 2024 increased by 30.29% compared to 2023 – up to UAH 314.465 million. Thus, the ratio of reinsurers’ participation in insurance premiums increased by 0.37 p.p. to 12.49%.
At the same time, RA notes that net written premiums increased by 25.80% to UAH 2.203 billion, and net earned premiums increased by 36.67% to UAH 2 billion.

The volume of insurance payments and reimbursements made by Knyazha VIG in 2024 increased by 58.53% compared to 2023, to UAH 1.005 billion. Thus, the level of payments increased by 8.11 percentage points to 39.94%.
In 2024, despite the loss-making result from operating activities, the insurer received a net profit of UAH 0.142 million.

Assets as of December 31, 2024 increased by 22.28% to UAH 2.180 billion, equity increased by 0.25% to UAH 449.832 million, liabilities showed an increase of 29.69% to UAH 1.730 billion, cash and cash equivalents increased by 62.93% to UAH 81.539 million.

RA notes that during the reporting period, the insurer made financial investments in the amount of UAH 1.014 billion, which consisted of government bonds (74.69% of the investment portfolio), as well as deposits in banks with a high credit rating (25.31% of the portfolio). Thus, liquid assets covered 58.64% of the insurer’s liabilities.

PrJSC “IC ‘Knyazha Vienna Insurance Group’ is a part of IFG Vienna Insurance Group Ukraine, the main shareholder of which is Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe (Austria). The group also includes PrJSC IC Ukrainian Insurance Group – 100%, PrJSC IC KnyazhaLife Viena Insurance Group – 97.8%, LLC USG Consulting – 50.7%, LLC VIG Services Ukraine – 78.7%, LLC Assistance Company Ukrainian Assistance Service – 100%.

NovaPay is preparing to publicly place new series of bonds for UAH 100 mln

International financial service NovaPay (TM NovaPay) plans to publicly place 10 series – J – bonds issued by its subsidiary NovaPay Credit LLC with a total nominal amount of UAH 100 million, which will bring the company’s bonds in circulation to UAH 990 million.

As the issuer reported in the National Securities and Stock Market Commission’s (NSSMC) disclosure system, the relevant decision was made by the general meeting of the company’s shareholders on March 5.

The face value of the bonds is UAH 1 thousand, and there is no information on other terms of the J series.

“The funds raised as a result of the bond issue through a public offering are planned to be used in the following areas: credit operations for legal entities – 20% of the actual funds raised; credit operations for individuals – 80% of the actual funds raised,” the announcement traditionally states.

As reported, in 2023, NovaPay made three public issues of interest-bearing bonds of series A, B, and C for UAH 100 million each, and last year issued six more series of bonds – D, E, F, G, H, and I. In particular, in October-December 2024, three series of bonds – G, H and I – were placed for a total amount of UAH 290 million, which increased the total amount of the company’s securities in circulation to UAH 890 million. G and H series securities of UAH 100 million each are available for purchase via the NovaPay mobile application, while I series bonds of UAH 90 million are offered for sale to institutional clients.

On Thursday, the company reported that about 4.3 thousand Ukrainians have purchased NovaPay bonds totaling about UAH 1.2 billion, while at the beginning of the year it reported more than 3 thousand customers and UAH 740 million, and in mid-October 2024 – 2.6 thousand customers and UAH 600 million.

According to the prospectuses, the bonds of the last three series were issued for three years. The nominal interest rate on these bonds is 17% per annum, while for the previous three series it was 18%. The interest income on the G and H series bonds is scheduled to be paid at the end of the maturity period, while the I series bonds are to be paid quarterly, and the interest rate is currently set for the first year of circulation.

NovaPay, which promotes most of its bonds as an alternative to bank deposits through a one- to 12-month repurchase scheme, declares interest rates of up to 18% per annum.

According to the Standard Rating agency, the value of NovaPay Credit’s loan portfolio in the first nine months of 2024 increased by 53.4% to UAH 639.11 million, the number of loan agreements doubled to 90.41 thousand, the share of loans overdue for more than 90 days increased from 0.86% to 3.57%, and the effective interest rate on the loan portfolio increased from 44.69% to 58.55%.

The company’s revenue from sales in January-September 2024 increased by 2.9 times to UAH 170 million, net profit – by 84.9% to UAH 55.3 million, and equity – by 20.9% to UAH 319.1 million.

NovaPay is an international financial service founded in 2001. It is part of the Nova group and provides financial services online and offline at Nova Poshta offices. According to its website, the company employs about 13,000 people in more than 3,500 Nova Poshta offices across Ukraine.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, the company accounts for about 35% of the total volume of domestic money transfers.

,

Exports of wheat flour fell by 36% in 7 months

In July-January of 2024-2025 marketing year (MY), Ukraine exported 40.4 thsd tonnes of wheat flour, down 36.1% year-on-year, reports the Association of Millers, citing the State Customs Service.

According to the infographics published in Facebook, the export volumes in the season-24/25 are slightly lower than in the previous seasons – for 7 months of 2023/24 MY Ukraine exported 63.2 thsd tonnes of wheat flour, and in 2022/23 MY – 79.8 thsd tonnes.

At the same time, about 17.0 thsd tonnes were exported to the EU countries, almost 12.4 thsd tonnes – to Moldova, 8.1 thsd tonnes – to Palestine, 1.5 thsd tonnes – to Israel.

,

DMZ increases rolled steel output by 9%, coke production drops by 20%

Dnipro Metallurgical Plant (DMZ), a part of DCH Steel of businessman Aleksandr Yaroslavsky’s DCH Group, increased its rolled steel production by 9.2% year-on-year to 7.1 thousand tons in January-February this year.

According to the company on Thursday, coke production in January-February 2025 decreased by 20.2% to 36.2 thousand tons.

In February of this year, DMZ produced 6.6 thousand tons of rolled metal products, which is 29.4% more than in February 2024. Coke production decreased by 23.7% year-on-year to 17.3 thousand tons.
In February, the plant shipped 6.1 thousand tons of rolled metal products and all the coke it produced to consumers, the information states.

As reported, in 2024, DMZ reduced its rolled steel production by 59.4% compared to 2023 to 42.9 thousand tons, and coke production by 1.2% to 289.1 thousand tons.

In 2023, DMZ increased its rolled steel output by 86.2% compared to 2022, to 105.6 thousand tons, and coke by 38.5%, to 292.7 thousand tons.
In 2022, the plant reduced its rolled steel production by 74.2% compared to 2021, to 58.4 thousand tons, and coke production by 56.3%, to 211.3 thousand tons.

DMZ specializes in the production of steel, pig iron, rolled products and products made from them.
On March 1, 2018, DCH Group signed an agreement to buy Dnipro Metallurgical Plant from Evraz.

, ,

DIM has created DIM+ real estate agency for investors and apartment owners

DIM has launched its own official real estate agency, DIM+, for owners of already commissioned projects and investors in those currently being implemented by the company.

According to the company’s press service, the daily flow of visitors to sales departments looking for apartments in DIM’s complexes, along with a large base of existing and potential customers, ensures that investors’ real estate will be sold or find tenants as soon as possible.

DIM+ offers not only buying, selling and leasing services, but also full property management. Among the services is the development of a personalized project for residential and commercial real estate without renovation. At the same time, the company takes control over the condition of the property, timely payment of utility bills, settlement of any issues, and full reporting.

Netherlands to set aside €3.5 bln to support Ukraine in 2026

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schof has announced that the Netherlands will set aside funds to continue supporting Ukraine next year, Western media report.
“The Dutch government will set aside EUR3.5 billion to continue supporting Ukraine in 2026,” Schof said.

According to the prime minister, the funds will ensure the continuity of Amsterdam’s support for Kyiv for the next year, “but if necessary, they can be used this year.”
Schof specified that EUR700 million of the funds would be spent on drones for Ukraine.

Media reports indicate that the previous Dutch government allocated a comparable amount to support Ukraine in 2025, but no exact figures are given.
In addition, in the fall, Amsterdam provided Kyiv with the first batch of the promised F-16 fighter jets.