The German authorities intend to support bilateral energy projects with Ukraine and will dedicate the funding of $70 million for this, according to a joint statement by Washington and Berlin on the Nord Stream 2.
“Germany will continue to support bilateral energy projects with Ukraine, especially in the field of renewables and energy efficiency, as well as coal transition support,” the document says.
Germany, among other things, “will appoint a special envoy with dedicated funding of $70 million.”
In addition, Germany is also ready to launch a Ukraine Resilience Package to support Ukraine’s energy security. Berlin will provide assistance for Ukraine’s integration into the European electricity grid, support efforts to reform Ukraine’s energy sector, and assist with identifying options to modernize Ukraine’s gas transmission systems.
Revenue of Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of an international vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies Metinvest, in April this year increased by 12.9%, or $178 million, compared to the previous month, to $1.555 billion from $1.377 billion. According to the published preliminary unaudited consolidated monthly results of the company’s financial statements on Wednesday, total EBITDA in April was $650 million, which is $69 million, or 11.9% more than in March ($581 million). At the same time, EBITDA from participation in the joint venture amounted to $101 million (in March – $95 million).
According to the report, adjusted EBITDA of the metallurgical division of the group for April 2021 amounted to “plus” $313 million (in March – “plus” $233 million), including $34 million from participation in the joint venture ($13 million); EBITDA of the mining division – $399 million ($402 million), including from the joint venture – $66 million ($82 million). The management company spent $7 million ($7 million).
The total revenue in April consisted of the revenue of the metallurgical division in the amount of $1.189 billion (in March – $1.045 billion), and the mining division – $563 million ($513 million). Intragroup sales were $197 million ($182 million).
The total debt of Metinvest in April decreased by $101 million compared to March, to $3.172 billion from $3.273 billion, whiles cash and cash equivalents increased by $234 million, to $1.204 billion from $970 million.
Net cash used in investing activities amounted to $60 million, and in financing activities – $156 million.
Metinvest received $46 million from the resale of square billets produced by (Dniprovsky Iron and Steel Works of ISD Corporation) in April in the amount of 75,000 tonnes. In addition, $218 million were received from the resale of 272,000 tonnes of flat-rolled products, 80,000 tonnes of long products – $58 million, and 115,000 tonnes of cast iron – $70 million.
In general, the company in April sold 440,000 tonnes of semi-finished products for $277 million, 967,000 tonnes of finished metal products for $786 million, and 183,000 tonnes of coke for $58 million.
In April, the group sold 1.779 million tonnes of iron ore for $333 million, and 178,000 tonnes of coal concentrate for $22 million.
The main shareholders of Metinvest are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), jointly managing the company.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
The Slovak Republic opens an entrance for Ukrainian citizens who have completed a full course of vaccination against coronavirus (COVID-19), Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.
“Slovakia has opened up for Ukrainians who have completed a full course of vaccination. For those who have not yet been vaccinated, entry is possible with self-isolation,” Kuleba said on his Twitter page on Wednesday.
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on August 30, the White House said on Wednesday.
“President Biden looks forward to welcoming President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to the White House on August 30, 2021,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
“The visit will affirm the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in Donbas and Crimea,” she said in the statement.
In addition, according to Psaki, Zelensky’s visit to the United States will also confirm “our close cooperation on energy security and our backing for President Zelensky’s efforts to tackle corruption and implement a reform agenda based on our shared democratic values.”
The main pipe enterprises of Ukraine in January-June of this year increased production of pipes from ferrous metals, according to recent data, by 16.4% compared to the same period last year, to 470,800 tonnes, in particular, in June – 94,300 tonnes. The Ukrtruboprom association told Interfax-Ukraine, in particular, the enterprises of the association during this period increased production of pipes by 16.1%, to 309,400 tonnes. In particular, in June they increased output compared to the same period last year by 56.5%, to 68,400 tonnes, compared to May of this year – by 16.9%.
At the same time, Interpipe Niko Tube and Trubostal demonstrate positive dynamics, while in the six months they increased pipe production by 58.6% and 11.1%, respectively. At the same time, Centravis reduced production by 10.2%, Interpipe Novomoskovsk Pipe Plant – by 23.2%.
Dnipropetrovsk Pipe Plant continues to be idle.
According to Heorhiy Polsky, the director general of Ukrtruboprom, for the fourth month in a row there has been an increase in the production of seamless pipes at the enterprises of the association due to the preservation of a favorable situation in foreign markets.
“Consumption of oil and gas pipes is at a high level due to the growth of drilling volumes, mainly in the United States and the Middle East. At the same time, in Ukraine, even against the background of rising gas prices, drilling volumes and, accordingly, consumption of such pipes are still far away from the pre-crisis level of 2018-2019. At the same time, pipe products for construction purposes are also in demand in the EU countries, the MENA region, as well as in Ukraine,” the top manager stated.
According to him, the sharp rise in the price of strip (although the rise in prices for it has practically stopped at present) continues to have a negative impact on the production of welded pipes.
Farmak pharmaceutical company (Kyiv) is investing EUR 30 million in the construction of an innovative research R&D center in Kyiv.
According to a press release from the company, the center is to open in 2023.
According to Executive Director of Farmak Volodymyr Kostiuk, the decision to build an R&D center was made a few years ago due to the expansion of the geography of presence and the portfolio of medicines.
In the new center, in particular, analytical laboratories will be concentrated, they will have about a hundred liquid and gas chromatographs and a number of modern devices for the development and testing of drugs.
In addition, the R&D center will house a technological laboratory with equipment for the development of finished drugs with various methods of their delivery to the human body and the implementation of personalized medicine protocols of the 21st century.
In the new R&D center, it is planned to continue working in three main areas: finished dosage forms, proprietary active pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as an innovative area in which Farmak has been working since 2015 – biotechnological active pharmaceutical ingredients. All processes will be digitized.
In addition, on the basis of the new complex, a special location will be equipped for young scientists who are not employees of the company, where they can engage in scientific activities and create prototypes of drugs.
The concept design of the complex was developed by Makhno Studio.
Farmak is the leader of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market. The company’s product portfolio includes about 200 brands. Among the main directions are endocrinological, gastroenterological, cardiological, neurological, anti-cold and other drugs.
