Capital Times Investment Banking Company (Kyiv) intends to launch a fund in the near future aimed at investing in companies that rethink the future of technology, health and sustainable development, according to the Ukrainian Venture Capital Association (UVCA).
“We already have a portfolio of 9 investments, including 3 exits. Now, with the new fund, we are pleased to continue our journey, providing the necessary resources, mentoring and strategic support to help companies scale and succeed,” Capital Times Managing Partner Sergiy Goncharevich said in a release.
It is noted that Capital Times joined UVCA in July. The company’s website also says that in July this year it also became a member of the IT Ukraine association.
“For Capital Times, the IT sector is a priority area for M&A in Ukraine. In recent years, deals in this sector have been leading in terms of number and value. Despite the market transformation, we see significant potential and opportunities for development,” the company commented on joining the association.
According to the releases, Capital Times has 18 years of experience in providing M&A solutions. It is a member of the international network of M&A advisors Globalscore Partners, with 38 deals in its portfolio and 260 completed projects in various sectors of the economy.
In addition to Kyiv, the company also has offices in Chisinau (Moldova) and Poznan (Poland).
The company’s declared focuses are FoodTech, FinTech, HealthTech, MilitaryTech, and EdTech.
Kernel Agro Holding, one of the largest agricultural companies in Ukraine, processed 3.2 million tons of oilseeds in the fourth quarter of the 2023-2024 fiscal year (FY, July-June) and returned to pre-war processing volumes, the company’s press service reported in a preliminary public report.
“This result was achieved thanks to the commissioning of a new oil extraction plant in western Ukraine,” the press service explained on its Facebook page.
According to the report, Kernel transshipped 6.7 million tons of agricultural products through its terminals, including 486 thousand tons for partners.
In fiscal year 2024, the agricultural holding offered its port facilities to Ukrainian farmers for the first time to help increase Ukraine’s agricultural exports. This area will continue to develop, Kernel promised.
“We exported 5.5 million tons of grain, which is 47% more than in the last financial year. This became possible due to stable exports via the Black Sea,” the agricultural holding summarized.
Prior to the war, Kernel was the world’s leading producer of sunflower oil (about 7% of global production) and its exports (about 12%). It is one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. In addition, it is engaged in the cultivation and sale of agricultural products.
OTP BANK JSC fills most of its managerial vacancies with internal candidates who were able to reveal themselves and realize their professional potential, said Kristina Feher, HR Director of OTP Bank, during a roundtable discussion on the personnel situation in the market organized by the Financial Club.
“Our internal growth programs are working effectively. Almost 70% of vacancies for managerial positions at the head office and in the branch network are filled by employees who develop, join training, and reveal their leadership qualities. We implement projects that allow our colleagues to delve deeper into the competencies they need, share experiences with other team members, and present their best practices. For example, we have mentoring programs from top management, as well as the Reading Club and the OTP Cinema Club, which combine the formats of interactive discussions of books and movies, thinking out of the box, and joint analysis of various success stories. And to share best practices within the company, we have been organizing Demo Day for several years in a row – an event for product teams that present new initiatives and solutions to all employees of the Bank,” said K. Feher.
According to her, OTP BANK is a financial institution with a strong team of professionals, which also gives young people without work experience the opportunity to prove themselves. “I believe that young staff is one of the key resources.
We fruitfully cooperate with 27 Ukrainian universities and twice a year we engage students for internships or training. Many of them stay with the Bank afterwards. In the first half of 2024, we started cooperation with 120 students, whom we will train over the coming months. Currently, there are 80 vacancies in the branch network, so we see an opportunity to close some of them through cooperation with talented young people. I can say that this approach is effective in our company,” added the HR Director.
The bank creates an environment in which employees feel protected and have the opportunity to realize themselves professionally. The staff is encouraged to develop and grow professionally, comfortable working conditions are created, and opportunities to be involved in work processes are provided. In addition, OTP BANK offers a flexible schedule, options to work remotely or in a hybrid format, as well as other individual approaches. “We remain as flexible as possible, so people can choose the format that they consider to be the most convenient and safe for organizing their working day,” said Kristina Feher.
According to the HR Director of OTP BANK, this has a positive effect. Employees appreciate reliability and stability, so the percentage of staff outflow is insignificant. Staff turnover in the first half of 2024 was less than 8%. At the same time, the Bank continues to actively develop various business lines, attract new specialists and implement initiatives that help it to be one of the leading companies in the financial market.
Ovostar Union, one of the leading producers of eggs and egg products in Ukraine, increased its total number of chickens by 4.1% to 7.6 million in January-June 2024, while the number of laying hens decreased by 4.6% to 6.2 million compared to the same period in 2023.
According to a report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the group reduced the volume of eggs produced by 4% to 706 million in the first half of 2024, while sales decreased by 9.4% to 433 million compared to the same period last year.
Export sales of eggs decreased by 18.3% to 170 mln, accounting for 39% of the total number of eggs sold in the first half of 2024, while a year earlier this figure was 43%.
“Ovostar Union increased egg processing by 28% to 274 million in the first half of 2024. The company produced 1,170 tons of dry egg products and 7,040 tons of liquid egg products. A year earlier, the figures were 1,050 tons and 6,232 tons, respectively.
Sales of dry egg products amounted to 1,116 tons, down 8.4% year-on-year, of which 833 tons, or 75%, were exported. A year earlier, the figures were 878 tons and 72%, respectively. Sales volume of liquid egg products increased by 14.5% to 6,967 tons, of which export sales amounted to 2,506 tons or 36%. A year earlier, these figures amounted to 2,801 tons and 46%, respectively.
“In the first half of 2024, the Group’s companies continued to be under constant pressure from the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine. Despite numerous unfavorable factors that affected the group’s operations in the reporting period, such as destabilization of production processes due to prolonged power outages, complications in domestic and international logistics, volatility in both purchase prices for the main components of feed and sales prices for manufactured products, the group managed to maintain production and sales of eggs and egg products at the level of the previous year, which we consider a satisfactory operating result,” the press service emphasized.
In the 2023-2024 marketing year (MY), Agrotrade exported more than 390 thsd tonnes of grain, up 10% compared to the previous season, the company’s press service reported on its Facebook page.
According to the report, 51.7% of all exports were the company’s own agricultural products, 48.3% were from third-party producers. The main buyers of grain were the EU, North Africa and the Middle East.
“Summarizing the results of the last season, I would like to note that the opening of the Ukrainian grain corridor and its rhythmic operation made our work much easier. It has added predictability, so we can now plan deliveries for a longer period. This allowed us to export more grain than we had forecast. In the new season, we expect that the company’s trade structure will partially return to the pre-war format – sales on EXW and CPT bases will reappear, and forward contracts will increase, as the market situation stabilizes and competition intensifies,” said Andriy But, Director of Foreign Trade Department of Agrotrade Group.
Among the company’s products, corn, wheat, soybeans, and rapeseed were in the highest demand among buyers. In total, in the 2023/24 season, Agrotrade exported grain to 14 countries.
The Agrotrade Group is a vertically integrated holding company with a full agro-industrial cycle (production, processing, storage and trade of agricultural products). It cultivates over 70 thousand hectares of land in Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava and Kharkiv regions. Its main crops are sunflower, corn, winter wheat, soybeans and rapeseed. It has its own network of elevators with a simultaneous storage capacity of 570 thousand tons.
The group also produces hybrid seeds of corn and sunflower, barley, and winter wheat. In 2014, a seed plant with a capacity of 20 thousand tons of seeds per year was built on the basis of Kolos seed farm (Kharkiv region). In 2018, Agrotrade launched its own brand Agroseeds on the market.
Vsevolod Kozhemiako is the founder and CEO of Agrotrade.
British mobile operator Vodafone Group Plc increased its revenue by 2.8% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 and confirmed its financial performance forecast for the entire fiscal year.
According to a Vodafone press release, revenue for the quarter ended June 30 reached €9.04 billion, up from €8.79 billion a year earlier.
Service revenue, the company’s key indicator, increased by 3.2% to €7.47 billion. In organic terms, the figure increased by 5.4%.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization and leasing (EBITDAaL) increased by 2.1% to EUR 2.68 billion. At the same time, the organic growth of this indicator amounted to 5.1%, the report says.
Operating profit jumped 42.9% to €1.55 billion.
In fiscal year 2025, Vodafone still plans to generate adjusted EBITDAaL of about 11 billion euros. Adjusted free cash flow is expected to be at least €2.4 billion.
Vodafone shares are losing 1.8% in London on Thursday. Since the beginning of the year, the company’s capitalization has increased by 1%, while the FTSE 100 index has added 4.6% over the same period.
