PrVT Insurance Company VUSO (Kyiv) collected UAH 827.4 million in net premiums in January-March 2025, which is 46.75% more than in the same period a year earlier, according to the insurer’s interim data published in the information disclosure system. At the same time, gross premiums for the reporting period increased by 51.8% to UAH 974.3 million. UAH 124.1 million was transferred to reinsurance, which is 16.7% more than in the first quarter of 2024.
During the reporting period, the company paid out UAH 390.3 million in claims, which is 22.4% more than in the first quarter of 2024. Gross profit amounted to UAH 396.6 million (-85.3%). Administrative expenses increased by 38% to UAH 64.2 million. The financial result from operating activities was UAH -53.606 million, compared to UAH 18.111 million for the same period a year earlier, the financial result before tax was UAH -70.074 million (+2.1 times), and net profit was UAH -40.994 million (+3 times).
VUSO Insurance Company was founded in 2001. It is a member of the MTIBU and NASU, a participant in the agreement on direct settlement of losses, and a member of the Nuclear Insurance Pool.
According to OpenDataBot, the OKKO-DRIVE gas station chain has become the largest employer in the Lviv region, with 6,700 employees.
The company is part of the Halnaftogaz holding (owned by Vitaliy Antonov). It specializes in retail fuel sales and is developing its service and catering divisions.
Staff growth compared to 2023 is +4.6%.
According to the OpenDataBot rating, the Aurora chain of stores has become the largest employer in the Poltava region, with 12,536 employees.
The company was founded in 2011. Its head office is located in Poltava. It operates fixed-price stores.
Financial indicators: the company is among the top ten retail chains in Ukraine according to the OpenDataBot Index. Over the past year, the number of employees has increased by 5.7%.
The European Union has decided to reinstate quotas on agricultural imports from Ukraine, which were suspended at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022 to support Ukrainian farmers. The updated restrictions will come into force on June 6, Bloomberg reported, citing the European Commission.
According to a European Commission representative, the quotas will be a temporary measure. The EU is currently working on revising the deep and comprehensive trade area between the EU and Ukraine. The quotas, available until the end of 2025, will amount to 7/12 of the usual annual volumes.
No member state opposed the decision. Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, and Lithuania abstained.
Bloomberg recalled that agricultural exports are crucial to Ukraine’s economy, and easy trade with the EU has helped Ukrainian farmers overcome major difficulties, including the temporary loss of their main export route through the Black Sea and production problems caused by landmines and military conscription.
However, the sharp increase in exports of relatively cheap Ukrainian goods to the EU market has sparked resistance from local farmers in countries such as Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. This has provoked a political standoff over protectionist measures between neighboring countries, some of which, such as Poland, were previously strong allies of Ukraine.
Agroholding Agraine has completed its 2025 spring sowing campaign, during which it sowed over 27,000 hectares with spring crops, the company’s press service reported on Facebook.
According to the report, corn took up most of the planned area, with 14,000 hectares, and sunflowers took up over 12,000 hectares.
Thanks to moisture retention and thorough soil preparation, the group of companies achieved optimal moisture at the sowing depth. In addition, this year, farmers chose drought-resistant corn and sunflower hybrids, focusing on stable yields despite the lack of rainfall.
“We reduced the density of corn sowing to better adapt to limited moisture. Thanks to the coordinated work of our teams, we were able to complete sowing ahead of schedule,” said Taras Kornienko, chief agronomist of the agricultural holding.
Agrain is engaged in the cultivation and storage of grain and oilseeds, as well as livestock farming. Before the full-scale Russian invasion, the agricultural holding company comprised 11 agricultural enterprises. It cultivated about 110,000 hectares in the Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Odesa, and Cherkasy regions.
The holding company is owned by SAS Investcompagnie (France).
Agro-industrial holding Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, reduced its total revenue to EUR 125 million in January-April 2025, down 25% from the same period last year, due to lower sales prices for a number of products and lower sales volumes, the agro-holding’s press service reported.
“EBITDA amounted to EUR27 million compared to EUR29 million in the first quarter of 2024, while profitability by this indicator increased by 4 percentage points to 21%. Exports of products, amounting to EUR73 million, accounted for 59% of total revenue compared to 69% in the first quarter of 2024,” the company said in a report.
At the same time, revenue from the crop production segment decreased by 49% year-on-year to EUR 37 million due to lower sales volumes. Exports accounted for 71% of the segment’s revenue (-20 percentage points year-on-year).
At the same time, in mid-May, Astarta’s enterprises successfully completed the spring sowing campaign. The final crop structure for 2025 is as follows: sugar beet – 34 thousand hectares (-12% y/y), soybeans – 56 thousand hectares (-21% y/y), winter wheat – 46 thousand hectares (-5% y/y), sunflower – 29 thousand hectares (+57% y/y), rapeseed – 11 thousand hectares (-8% y/y), corn – 11 thousand hectares (-5% y/y). ha (−5% y/y), sunflower – 29 thousand ha (+57% y/y), rapeseed – 11 thousand ha (−8% y/y), corn – 14 thousand ha (almost three times more y/y), organic crops – 2 thousand ha (no change y/y).
Revenue from Astarta’s sugar segment decreased by 5% y-o-y to EUR41 million, due to a 12% y-o-y decline in sugar prices and slightly lower sales volumes of by-products. This was partially offset by an 11% y-o-y increase in sugar sales. Sugar exports accounted for 47% of the segment’s revenue (down 4 p.p. y-o-y).
In volume terms, the company’s sugar exports accounted for 46% of total sugar sales, or 36,000 tons (+9% y-o-y). Almost half of this volume was exported by sea. The main export destinations were Libya, Israel, and the UAE, according to the agricultural holding.
Soybean processing at Astarta remained at last year’s level of EUR29 million. Exports accounted for 92% of the total, compared with 88% in the first quarter of 2024. Soybean processing volume amounted to 63,000 tons (+3% y/y).
The agricultural holding’s livestock production in January-April 2025 increased its revenue by 26% y/y to EUR 17 million, which is explained by higher sales prices. Milk sales amounted to 31 thousand tons (+1% y/y). All products were sold on the domestic market. The average livestock population was 29 thousand heads (+6% y/y). Total milk production amounted to 32 thousand tons (+1% y/y).
In January-April of this year, Astarta continued to develop its ecosystem of responsible partnership, in particular the Common Help Ukraine project, established jointly with the Believe in Yourself charitable foundation. According to the agricultural holding, the total value of charitable and humanitarian aid since the launch of the project has exceeded EUR35.3 million.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares, dairy farms with 22,000 head of cattle, an oil extraction plant in Hlobine (Poltava region), seven elevators, and a biogas complex.
In the first nine months of 2024, Astarta increased its net profit by 35.1% compared to the same period in 2023, to EUR75.60 million. The agricultural holding’s revenue grew by 12.6% to EUR441.46 million, and EBITDA by 12.8% to $131.56 million.
