“Ukrproduct Group, a major Ukrainian producer of packaged butter and processed cheese, increased production of kvass and beverages by 42.5% in local currency in the first half of 2024 and increased their output by 13.1% compared to the first half of 2023, the company said in a report to the London Stock Exchange on Monday.
Sales of kvass and other beverages in the first half of 2024 amounted to GBP1.1 million (…). This growth was driven by a combination of price increases, new product launches, distribution expansion, and favorable weather conditions for sales, the agricultural holding said.
The volume of oil sales in the first half of 2024 amounted to GBP1.8 million, which is 25.6% more in monetary terms and 9.5% more in production compared to the same period last year. Sales were made through the key sales channels – retailers, large distributors and exports.
In the Processed Cheese and Processed Cheese Products segment, sales amounted to GBP10.7 million, which represents a decrease in revenue of 2.2% in local currency and a decrease in volume of 10.8% compared to 1H2023.
“This was mainly due to financial difficulties for some clients and a shift in focus towards profitability,” Ukrproduct Group explained.
Spread sales for the reporting period decreased to GBP1.7 million, down 14.1% in local currency and 13.1% in volume compared to the same period last year. The agricultural holding explained the decline by increased competition in the market.
Skimmed milk powder sales for the six months of 2024 also decreased by 14.2% in local currency to GBP0.5 million and by 14.7% in volume compared to the same period last year, which is a continuation of the downward trend of the previous season.
Due to low prices for skimmed milk powder, the group minimized the production of this product, deciding instead to use semi-finished milk protein as an ingredient in the production of processed cheese, the agricultural holding said.
“Business development in the second half of 2024 remains extremely uncertain due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The Group continues to make every effort to implement its strategy in a very challenging business environment, not least by ensuring a stable electricity supply and responding to new challenges. In the next six months, the Group expects to focus on maintaining its existing production capacity, supporting sales volumes and continuously improving operational efficiency,” Ukrproduct Group summarized.
“Ukrproduct Group is a major Ukrainian producer of packaged butter, processed cheese and kvass. The company produces dairy products under the Nash Molochnyk, Nash Syrok, Molendam, and Vershkova Dolina brands and kvass under the Arsenievsky brand.
Ukrproduct Group operates two plants in Zhytomyr (one specializing in processed cheese and the other producing kvass) and two enterprises in Khmelnytsky region: a dairy plant in Starokonstantinov producing packaged butter, spreads, cheese and milk powder, and a dairy plant in Letychiv.
The group’s production capacity allows it to produce up to 70 thousand tons of dairy products per year.
In January-September this year, Zaporizhzhia-based Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works increased its rolled steel output by 26.7% year-on-year to 1.829 million tons from 1 million 443.9 thousand tons.
According to the company’s information on Tuesday, steel production during this period increased by 24.7% to 2 million 176.7 thousand tons, and pig iron production by 19.5% to 2 million 297.5 thousand tons.
In September, Zaporizhstal produced 248.6 thousand tons of iron, 203 thousand tons of steel, and shipped 184.1 thousand tons of rolled products.
At the same time, it is recalled that in 2023, the plant operated at an average of 70% of its capacity.
As reported, in 2023, Zaporizhstal increased its rolled steel output by 57.2% compared to 2022, up to 2 million 54.7 thousand tons, steel by 65.4%, up to 2 million 466.9 thousand tons, and pig iron by 35.3%, up to 2 million 718.9 thousand tons.
“Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine, whose products are in great demand among consumers both in the domestic market and in many countries of the world.
“Zaporizhstal is in the process of integration 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.
Rush LLC, the owner of EVA network in Ukraine, will allocate UAH 133.8 mln from net profit for the second quarter of 2024 for dividends.
According to the company’s message in the information disclosure system of the National Commission for Securities and Stock Market (NCSSM), a single participant of the LLC made the relevant decision on September 27.
Thus, the distribution of 35% of net profit received in the second quarter of 2024, which amounts to UAH 133.8 mln, was approved for dividends. Accrual of dividends will be carried out no later than six months from the date of the decision.
Earlier, in July, the company allocated UAH 148.8 mln from the net profit for the first quarter of this year for dividend payment.
Rush LLC, which manages the EVA network, was founded in 2002. As of June 31, 2024, the chain had 1,080 operating stores.
According to Opendatabot, the owner of Rush LLC is Cyprus-based Incetera Holdings Limited (100%), with Ruslan Shostak and Valeriy Kiptyk as the ultimate beneficiaries.
According to the results of 2023, the company’s revenue increased by 33.7% to UAH 21 billion compared to 2022, net profit – by 26% to UAH 2.2 billion, the value of assets – by 45.2% to UAH 15.03 billion. In 2023, EVA paid UAH 2.02 bln of taxes and fees to budgets of all levels.
The electronic catalog Prozorro Market allowed the state to purchase goods and services worth more than UAH 30 billion in 2024 and at the same time save almost UAH 3 billion, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko said.
“Since the launch of the tool (Prozorro Market – IF-U), the total amount of procurement has amounted to UAH 42 billion. The savings since the beginning of the instrument’s existence amounted to more than UAH 6 billion. This figure is explained by twice as much competition as compared to other procurement procedures. (…) Big savings are an opportunity for the state to buy more necessary goods. And this is especially important for me as the Minister of Economy: Prozorro Market is also a tool for active participation of Ukrainian producers in public procurement. For example, we were able to purchase more than 800 domestically produced school buses through this tool,” the press service of the Ministry of Economy quoted her as saying.
According to Dmytro Solovy, Deputy Director of Professional Procurement for Development, Prozorro Market is expecting a number of key innovations in the near future, including the introduction of a single electronic document that will combine ready-made contracts and terms of reference based on the constructor principle; expanding the range of complaints against unscrupulous suppliers; simplifying the process of qualifying suppliers; and speeding up the bidding procedure by half – from announcement to contract in three days.
“With the outbreak of full-scale war, Prozorro Market has become a tool that allows us to maintain a balance between transparency and competition on the one hand, and efficiency on the other. The e-catalog now effectively covers the needs of both civilians and the military. More than 90% of all food procured at the state level goes through Prozorro Market. The area of military goods is also developing very actively. Our goal is to make it as easy and transparent to buy a drone as a potato. And we are succeeding – 25 thousand different UAVs have been purchased by customers in the e-catalog in two years. In addition, through Prozorro Market, the military can buy tactical headphones, glasses, remote controls for drones, optical sights, night vision devices, etc.”, said Yevhen Yakubovsky, Director of Professional Procurement.
As part of the national forum “Prozorro Market: win-win for the state and business”, its direct customers – public procuring entities and businesses – shared their experience of using Prozorro Market. These include Fabrika-Kuhnya (Bucha, Kyiv region), Ukrnafta, the National Cancer Institute, the state-owned enterprise Forests of Ukraine, Zhytomyr City Council, etc.
The Ministry of Economy clarified that the further development of Prozorro Market is supported by a new 5-year project called Support for Digital Transformation, funded by USAID and UK Dev. They confirmed further support for the improvement of Prozorro Market and the implementation of best procurement practices within the project.
IMC Agro Holding has completed sunflower harvesting on 24.3 thou hectares, yielding 77.7 thou tons of gross harvest with a yield 60% higher than the national average of 3.2 t/ha, the company’s press service reported on its Facebook page.
According to the report, IMC also sowed winter wheat on an area of 20.7 thousand hectares.
“This year, September was abnormally dry and hot, so we managed to complete all field work in a short time. As a result, despite the hot and dry summer, we harvested a good sunflower crop with high quality indicators. As for the winter crops sown at the optimum time, we expect productive precipitation to sprout,” said Bogdan Krivitsky, Chief Operating Officer of the agricultural holding.
“IMC is an integrated group of companies operating in Sumy, Poltava and Chernihiv regions (north and center of Ukraine) in the crop production, elevators and warehouses segments. The company’s land bank is about 120 thousand hectares and storage capacity is 554 thousand tons, with a harvest of 1.002 million tons in 2023.
In the first half of 2023, IMC earned $6.28 million in net profit, down 44.6% year-on-year, while its revenue increased by 61.6% to $71.95 million, including a 41.2% increase in exports to $58.9 million. Normalized EBITDA amounted to $17.06 million, down 41% compared to the first half of 2022, due to higher selling costs and lower harvest prices.
Sukha Balka mine (Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovska oblast), part of Aleksandr Yaroslavskyi’s DCH group, intends to mine iron ore from the Druzhba deposit below the 1,210-meter horizon.
According to the documentation available to Interfax-Ukraine, the planned activity is to open and mine the rich ore reserves of the Druzhba deposit below the 1210-meter horizon at the horizon marks of the mine’s 1227, 1244, 1261 and 1275.
It was clarified that the reconstruction is being carried out to maintain the company’s capacity.
Sukha Balka Mine is one of the leading mining companies in Ukraine. It produces iron ore by underground mining. It includes Yubileynaya and Frunze mines.
In May 2017, DCH Group acquired a stake from Evraz Group.
