Ukrposhta JSC, as part of a joint project with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has announced two tenders for the purchase of 60 tractors and 60 semi-trailers with related full service services under the Ukrposhta logistics development project, which is scheduled to be implemented in 2025.
According to the announcement on the EBRD’s procurement portal, bids will be accepted until January 15, 2025.
“Updating the fleet with modern tractors with semi-trailers will optimize routes and reduce delivery time,” the announcement on the ProZorro portal reads.
An explanatory online meeting with interested suppliers is planned for mid-December 2024, where they will be able to ask questions about the tender documents.
As reported, on November 19, Ukrposhta announced a second tender for the purchase of 100 trucks under a project with the EBRD for the development of Ukrposhta’s logistics with implementation in 2024-2025.
In addition, Ukrposhta is also accepting bids until December 8 for the purchase of 880 electric courier scooters with loans and a grant from the EBRD, and in early October announced the purchase of 1745 electric postal tricycles.
As of June 30 this year, the company had about 28.84 thousand points of presence in Ukraine and 33.64 thousand employees.
The company’s revenues for the first half of 2024 increased by 10.6% year-on-year to UAH 6 billion 170.2 million, while net loss decreased by 34.5% to UAH 428.1 million.
Astarta Agro Holding, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, increased its net profit by 35.1% in January-September 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, to EUR75.60 million, according to the company’s report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
According to the report, consolidated revenue increased by 12.6% to EUR441.46 million, while gross profit grew by 20.3% to $183.98 million and EBITDA by 12.8% to $131.56 million.
It is indicated that the results of the sugar production segment accounted for 38% of total sales or EUR169 million, which is 19% more than in the same period last year.
According to the report, agriculture accounted for 33% of Astarta’s revenue, or EUR146 million, up 28% year-on-year, while livestock revenue increased by 22% to EUR37 million.
At the same time, sales from soybean processing decreased by 17% year-on-year to EUR77 million.
It was specified that the share of exports is 64% of consolidated revenue, or EUR283 mln, compared to 46% in the first nine months of 2023.
Taking into account the data for the first half of the year, Astarta managed to improve its performance in the third quarter.
As reported, in the first half of 2024, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 13.9% compared to the first half of 2023 to EUR 47.11 million and EBITDA by 11.7% to $85.83 million, while revenue increased by 11.6% to EUR 320.71 million.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 million.
On November 20, Kyiv hosted the UP100 award, which brought together the best Ukrainian entrepreneurs and startups that shape the future of business. Among the partners was the HitBit Pro team (https://hitbitpro.com.ua/), which for the first time presented its global lifestyle project aimed at integrating cryptocurrencies into everyday life.
HitBit Pro is a modern financial instrument that allows you to pay for any purchases in cryptocurrency through automatic conversion to fiat currency (euros). The card is supported by the Mastercard network.
Registration and management of the card are as convenient as possible: everything can be done through a Telegram bot. This makes HitBit Pro accessible even to those who are new to cryptocurrencies.
At the UP100 award, the HitBit Pro team presented an interactive stand where visitors could familiarize themselves with the product’s functionality. Guests observed how easy it was to register, order a card, and make payments in real time.
According to the founders, their product is designed for people who value freedom in financial transactions. “We want to make cryptocurrency accessible to everyone. Our card is an easy way to integrate digital assets into everyday life,” said one of the founders of HitBit Pro.
The new HitBit Pro project is aimed at young people and active travelers looking for flexible solutions to manage their finances. It allows you to use cryptocurrency for everyday purchases in stores, restaurants, traveling, and even online.
The key goal is to bust the myth that cryptocurrency is complicated or inaccessible. HitBit Pro offers a tool that makes using cryptocurrencies as easy as using a bank card.
The partnership with UP100 was the first public presentation of HitBit Pro.
In January-September 2024, PJSC “Insurance Company ‘Persha’ (Kyiv) collected UAH 832.3 million of gross premiums, which is 38.9% more than in the same period of 2023.
According to the Expert Rating agency, which confirms the credit rating/financial strength rating of the insurer at the level of “uaAA” on the national scale, its assessment was based on the analysis of the insurer’s activities for 9 months. 2024.
It is specified that the part of the insurance premiums of the IC in the period under review, which belongs to reinsurers, increased by 8.89%, and their share in the structure of the company’s gross premiums decreased by 1.96 percentage points to 7.09%.
In the first three quarters of 2024, the company made 62.06% more insurance payments and reimbursements (UAH 320.5 thousand) than in the same period of 2023, and the level of payments increased by 5.52 percentage points to 38.51%.
As of June 1, 2024, the shareholders’ equity of IC “Persha” increased by 12.08% to UAH 207.65 million, and its gross liabilities showed an increase of 14.47% to UAH 848.92 million. The level of equity coverage of liabilities decreased by 0.52 percentage points to 24.46% as of the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2024.
As of the reporting date, the amount of cash and cash equivalents on the company’s accounts decreased by 17.08% to UAH 207.25 million, and the level of cash coverage of the insurer’s liabilities in the analyzed period decreased by 9.29 percentage points to 24.41%.
At the same time, as of September 30, the company formed a portfolio of current liquid financial investments consisting of bank deposits in the amount of UAH 52.78 million. As of the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2024, liquid assets covered 30.63% of the liabilities of IC Persha.
The RA also notes that according to the results of the first nine months of 2024, the activities of IC “Persha” were profitable. In particular, the insurer’s operating profit amounted to UAH 2.93 million against an operating loss in January-September 2023, and net profit amounted to UAH 11.19 million (-7.43%).
“Persha” Insurance Company has been operating in the Ukrainian insurance market since 2001. The company’s main specialization is motor insurance. IC “Persha” is a member of MTIBU, the League of Insurance Organizations of Ukraine, and the National Insurer of International Road Transport Carnet (TIR).
“Since February 2022, Kyivstar, the largest Ukrainian telecommunications operator, has expanded its 4G coverage to more than 4.4 thousand settlements, and today its high-speed mobile Internet is available to more than 95.6% of the population in the government-controlled territory of Ukraine, up from 94.7% a year ago.
“To achieve such results, more than 18,700 modernization works were carried out and more than 7,000 new base stations were built during the full-scale invasion alone,” the company said in a press release on Thursday.
In early December 2023, Kyivstar reported that since February 2022, the coverage area of the 4G network has increased by almost 4 thousand settlements, for which the telecom operator has built 1.4 thousand new 4G base stations and updated the existing equipment by 12 thousand base stations.
It is noted that the highest 4G coverage rates are in Kyiv – 99% and Dnipro regions – 98%.
It is noted that Kyivstar currently has the largest number of 4G base stations located in Ukraine.
“The expansion of 4G coverage continues even in small towns and villages throughout Ukraine, as well as along highways. In particular, in 2024, 4G coverage was launched in 15 new settlements in Ivano-Frankivsk region, 36 in Lviv region and 38 in Vinnytsia region,” the release said.
According to the release, 225 new technology sites were built along the highways in 2024, which increased the quality of 4G coverage from more than 12 thousand km to more than 12.8 thousand km of international and national roads since December.
“Kyivstar reminded that over the next five years (from 2023 to 2027) it plans to invest $1 billion in the development and restoration of Ukraine’s digital infrastructure, as announced at the International Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine in June 2024. In particular, the additional radio frequency spectrum in the 2100 and 2300 MHz bands, for which the company paid UAH 1.43 billion at the November 19 auction held by the NCCC regulator, will be a significant boost to 4G coverage.
According to the press release, the main advantages of 4G are high data transfer speeds, stable connections and higher network capacity, which provide more comfortable conditions for users to access online services, which is important for remote work, education and telemedicine.
As reported, the number of Kyivstar 4G users increased by 4.3% in the third quarter of 2024 to 15.3 million, or 65.4% of the total subscriber base, up 4.8% percentage points year-on-year.
At the same time, Kyivstar’s mobile subscriber base decreased by 3.3% year-on-year to 23.3 million in the third quarter. The number of Ukrainians living outside Ukraine had an impact on the subscriber base, the quarterly report said.
Kyivstar’s revenue in January-September 2024 increased by 4.7% to UAH 26.86 billion, while EBITDA decreased by 2.6% to UAH 15.13 billion.
The cargo turnover of Ukrainian ports increased to 86.8 mln tons from January 1 to November 17, 2024, of which 53.5 mln tons of grain were exported, the press service of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) reports.
According to the USPA’s Facebook post on Thursday, the key export items are sunflower oil – 5.3 million tons worth $4.4 billion, corn – 25.5 million tons worth $4.2 billion, and wheat – 19 million tons worth $3.4 billion.
Port operations are complicated by Russian aggression, mine threats, and military challenges. Despite this, Ukraine’s seaports are demonstrating record export capacity, the USPA said.
Earlier it was reported that in January-October 2024, Ukrainian ports increased cargo handling by 78.1% compared to the same period last year – up to 82.1 million tons. In October, the ports handled 8 million tons of cargo, of which 6.8 million tons, or 85%, were transshipped through the “sea corridor”. More than half of the cargo handled by ports in October was agricultural. They accounted for 5 million tons, which is almost 3.3 times more than in the same period last year.
