In January-September 2024, “ARX Life” Insurance Company (ARX Life, Kyiv) collected insurance premiums in the amount of UAH 251.2 million, which is 7.03% more than in the same period a year earlier.
This was reported by RA “Standard-Rating” on its website in the information on the company’s credit rating/insurer financial strength (reliability) rating update at the level of “uaAAA” on the national scale.
The volume of payments and reimbursements made by the insurer in the first half of the year decreased by 10.21% to UAH 44.382 million. Thus, the insurer’s claims ratio decreased by 3.39 percentage points to 17.67%.
The insurer’s acquisition expenses for the first three quarters of 2024 decreased by 4.99% to UAH 134.587 million compared to the same period in 2023.
Net profit amounted to UAH 60.908 million, which is 31.01% more than the net profit for 9 months of 2023.
As of October 1, 2024, the insurer’s assets increased by 24.55% to UAH 355.136 million, equity – by 28.76% to UAH 272.681 million, liabilities – by 12.41% to UAH 82.455 million, cash and cash equivalents – by 66.66% to UAH 65.756 million.
Thus, as of the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2024, the company had a high level of capitalization (330.7%), as well as the level of coverage of its liabilities by cash and cash equivalents (79.75%).
At the same time, RA notes that as of October 1, 2024, the insurer made financial investments in the amount of UAH 279.6 million. They consisted of government bonds and government bonds (89.43%) and deposits in banks (10.57%).
ARX Life is part of the international insurance holding Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. ARX Life is among the top ten companies in the life insurance market in Ukraine.
NEQSOL Holding, the owner of Ukraine’s second largest mobile operator VF Ukraine (Vodafone Ukraine), has paid UAH 3.94 billion to the state budget of Ukraine in full for the purchase of United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC, Kyiv) at a privatization tender.
“The winner of the auction paid in full for the state-owned stake in the country’s largest producer of titanium raw materials. The new owner has also undertaken important investment commitments: to invest at least UAH 400 million in the modernization of production, which will ensure the further development of the enterprise,” the SPF said in a statement on Monday.
For his part, NEQSOL Holding’s Regional Director Volodymyr Lavrenchuk noted that the international group of companies, which does business in 11 countries, is taking the steps required by law to complete the privatization process.
“As a strategic investor, we have already started negotiations with a number of specialized companies from the US, Australia, the UK and Canada to attract the best international experience to develop a new strategy for UMCC. This strategy provides for the fulfillment of privatization obligations, deep modernization and expansion in global markets,” he stressed.
The State Property Fund noted that the process of large-scale privatization continues, and on December 19, 2024, 100% of the state-owned share of the nationalized building materials producer Aerok LLC will be put up for sale at an online auction in the Prozorro.Sale electronic trading system with a starting price of UAH 965.3 million.
The SPF reminded that, including the sale of the Ukraina Hotel earlier this fall, the total amount of proceeds from large-scale privatization this year has already exceeded UAH 6.4 billion.
As reported, Cemin Ukraine LLC, controlled by NEQSOL Holding, was the only bidder for the purchase of the UMCC at the auction scheduled for October 9: it offered UAH 3 billion 938 million 351,581 thousand at the initial price of UAH 3 billion 899,358 million.
NEQSOL Holding is founded and owned by Azerbaijani citizen Nasib Hasanov. According to the holding’s website, in the 1990s, during the collapse of the Soviet Union, he started providing brokerage services, initially engaged in the supply of chemicals, developed business in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and other countries of the former USSR, and then in the supply of equipment for the oil and gas industry in the region.
After that, Hasanov used the accumulated capital to invest in the oil and gas industry of Azerbaijan, establishing his own company in this field. The holding’s enterprises in the energy sector are consolidated into two groups: Nobel Oil E&P (UK) Limited (trading name Nobel Upstream), which is engaged in exploration and production in the UK, the US and Azerbaijan, and Nobel Energy, which provides diversified integrated services to international oil and gas operators in the Caspian region and beyond.
The holding entered the telecommunications industry in 2005 by acquiring Bakcell, the first Azerbaijani telecommunications company, and in 2019 NEQSOL Holding bought Vodafone Ukraine. The holding also invests in various startups.
In the late 2000s, the group expanded its business portfolio by making a name for itself in the construction services and materials market, producing cement and related materials. Norm, founded in 2013, is the largest cement producer in the South Caucasus. Before the war, NEQSOL Holding was close to buying Ivano-Frankivskcement, Ukraine’s largest cement producer, but later abandoned the deal.
Currently, the group employs over 12,000 people in 11 countries, including the UK, USA, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and the UAE. The company’s headquarters are located in Amsterdam, Baku and Kyiv.
UMCC started its actual operations in August 2014, when the Ukrainian government decided to transfer the property complexes of Vilnohirsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant (VGMK, Dnipropetrovska oblast) and Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant (IGOK, Zhytomyrska oblast) to its management. Previously, these plants were leased from Dmitry Firtash’s structures.
In August 2016, the government included UMCC in the list of companies to be privatized in 2017. The privatization was postponed several times, most recently due to Covid and quarantine.
Before the war, in the second half of 2021, the SPF put UMCC up for auction three times with a starting price of UAH 3.7 billion. The last auction, scheduled for December 20, did not take place as only two bids were submitted, one of which was rejected due to non-compliance with the law. At that time, one bidder was not enough for the sale. This was preceded by a statement by the privatization adviser BDO Corporate Finance that international companies were not ready to participate in the auction due to the lack of guarantees of protection of large investments by the Cabinet of Ministers. At that time, the SPF and the advisor appealed to the government to provide such guarantees, but to no avail.
In 2023, UMCC’s revenue decreased by 15.4% to UAH 1 billion 946.68 million, and its net loss amounted to UAH 481.35 million against a net profit of UAH 13.37 million a year earlier. According to YouControl, in January-September this year, the company increased its revenue by 88.8% to UAH 2 billion 295.5 million, receiving UAH 89.1 million in net profit against UAH 274.2 million in net loss for the same period last year.
The national procurement agency, the state-owned enterprise Medical Procurement of Ukraine (MPU), has announced additional procurement of medical products with a total expected value of UAH 1.81 billion at the expense of saved funds.
According to the website of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine, the procurement will be carried out in the areas of adult and pediatric oncology, cardiovascular diseases, adult and pediatric hemophilia, hepatitis, cystic fibrosis, and blood donation.
The Ministry of Health clarifies that as of November 13, procurements totaling UAH 1.53 billion have been announced, which is 84.5% of the expected amount.
In 2023, the Ministry of Health saved UAH 2.5 billion in procurement, of which UAH 1.635 billion was spent on additional procurement.
Metinvest Group’s Zaporizhzhia-based steel and mining enterprises, Zaporizhstal, Zaporozhogneupor, Zaporozhkoks and Zaporizhzhia Foundry and Mechanical Plant (ZLMZ), increased their payments to budgets of all levels by 35% year-on-year in January-September this year, totaling more than UAH 2.1 billion in taxes and fees.
According to the group’s press release on Friday, the most significant payments in terms of volume are the unified social tax and the single personal income tax. A significant share of deductions is also accounted for by the payment of environmental and land taxes and military fees.
“Metinvest Group’s enterprises remain among the largest taxpayers in Zaporizhzhia. In the first nine months of this year, Metinvest’s steelmakers paid almost UAH 700 million to the local budget, a quarter more than last year. Taxes are the basis of the public sector and the foundation for sustainable development of the frontline region. That is why, despite all the difficulties of wartime, our enterprises remain a reliable pillar of Zaporizhzhia,” said Taras Shevchenko, acting CEO of Zaporizhstal.
At the same time, the company’s enterprises in the region systematically implement socially important projects to reintegrate war veterans and support their families, help vulnerable groups of the population, assist in eliminating the consequences of shelling and restore destroyed infrastructure.
As reported earlier, including associates and joint ventures, Metinvest Group increased its tax payments to the Ukrainian budget by 38% to over UAH 15 billion in the first nine months of 2024. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Metinvest has allocated UAH 7.5 billion to help Ukraine and its citizens, including UAH 4 billion for the needs of the army as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front military initiative. The Group remains a reliable support for the country in its fight against the enemy.
In 2023, Metinvest’s Zaporizhzhia enterprises paid more than UAH 2.1 billion to the budgets of all levels, including more than UAH 818 million to local budgets. At the same time, under martial law, they waived tax benefits worth more than UAH 350 million in favor of the state.
Taking into account its associated companies and joint ventures, Metinvest paid UAH 14.6 billion in taxes and fees to the budgets of all levels in Ukraine in 2023. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Group has allocated UAH 4.8 billion to help Ukraine and its citizens, including more than UAH 2.5 billion for the needs of the army.
In 2022, Metinvest’s Zaporizhzhia enterprises paid about UAH 3.4 billion to budgets of all levels, including almost UAH 820 million to local budgets last year.
“Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine, whose products are widely known and in demand in the domestic market and in many countries around the world. “Zaporizhstal is in the process of being integrated into Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
In January-October this year, Ukrainian enterprises reduced imports of lead and lead products by 12.9% to $777 thousand (in October – $27 thousand).
Exports of lead and lead products decreased by 21.7% to $9.780 million (in October – $1.279 million).
Exports of lead and lead products in 2023 increased by 23.5% to $14.778 million.
In addition, in 2023, Ukraine reduced imports of lead and lead products by 65.2% to $989 thousand.
Lead is currently mainly used in the production of lead-acid batteries for the automotive industry. In addition, lead is used to make bullets and some alloys.
In January-September 2024, Universalna Insurance Company (Kyiv) collected UAH 1.893 billion in gross insurance premiums, which is 29.4% more than in the same period in 2023, net premiums showed an increase of 28.6% to UAH 1.805 billion, according to the website of the Standard Rating Agency.
The agency has updated the credit rating/financial strength (reliability) rating of Universalna Insurance Company at uaAAA on the national scale based on an analysis of its performance for the specified period.
According to the published data, revenues from individuals increased by 25.26% to UAH 836.892 million, and from reinsurers – by 6.16 times (by UAH 6.912 million) to UAH 8.251 million. At the same time, despite a significant increase in premiums from individuals in the first nine months of 2024, legal entities prevailed in the company’s client portfolio.
Insurance payments sent to reinsurers in the reporting period increased by 48.35% to UAH 90.569 million. The ratio of reinsurers’ participation in insurance premiums increased by 0.62 percentage points to 4.79%.
The volume of insurance claims paid by Universalna for 9 months of 2024 increased by 29.89% to UAH 614.721 million compared to the same period in 2023. The claims ratio increased by 0.12 percentage points to 32.48%.
In the first three quarters of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, the insurer’s operating profit increased 2.4 times to UAH 185.572 million, and net profit increased by 67.81% to UAH 184.175 million.
As of November 1, 2024, its assets increased by 22.76% to UAH 1.806 billion, equity – by 24.88% to UAH 924.555 million, liabilities – by 20.61% to UAH 881.576 million, cash and cash equivalents – by 2.65 times to UAH 457.796 million.
RA also notes that as of the reporting date, the insurer’s equity exceeded its liabilities by 4.88%. The portfolio of current financial investments in liquid instruments amounted to UAH 1.155 billion and consisted of bank deposits (UAH 810.461 million) and government bonds (UAH 344.836 million), which was 1.83 times higher than the insurer’s liabilities.
Universalna has an international shareholder base, in particular, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development owns 30% of the shares and Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited – 70% of the shares.
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Canada) is a holding company that, through its subsidiaries, is primarily engaged in accident insurance, property insurance and investment management.
