The Premier Palace Hotel (Kyiv) made a net loss of UAH 15.7 million in 2022, compared to net profit of UAH 66.4 million in the previous year.
According to the annual financial report in the information disclosure system of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, the net income of the hotel last year decreased by 42.1% – to 143.9 million UAH.
According to the company, last year the hotel’s operating profit decreased 13 times compared to 2021 and amounted to 6.7 million UAH. Its uncovered loss increased by 2% up to UAH 978.5 mln. Current liabilities decreased by 3.7% to UAH 378.2 mln, while there were no long-term liabilities at the end of the year.
In general, the value of assets of the company for the year decreased by 10.3% to 265.8 mln hryvnia.
As stated in the report, the main negative factor that affects the work of the hotel in 2022, was the military aggression of the Russian Federation. Besides it is stated the absence of state programs of hotel business support and imperfect system of tax legislation.
The hotel plans to increase guest satisfaction index from 92,5% to 95% in 2023 by implementing a renewed concept Ideal Meeting. Plans also include attracting/expanding new segments of embassies, international foundations and missions, which will be the main driver of demand until the end of hostilities in the country.
Premier Palace Hotel PJSC was registered in 2004. According to the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, as of the fourth quarter of 2022, its shareholders are Pumori Enterprises Investments Ltd. (Cyprus, 62.2%) and Ukrainian LLC “East European Hotel Company” (24.1%), LLC “Hotel Complex Rus” (13.5%).
According to Opendatabot, the beneficiary is Natalia Selivanova.
Premier Palace Hotel Kyiv is owned by the Financiere group which also owns Premier Hotel Dnister (Lviv), Premier Hotel Lybid (Kiev) and Premier Hotel Odesa (Odessa). The group includes hotel holding Pumori Enterprises Investments LTD and East European Hotel Company LLC, which are shareholders of Ukrainian hotels.
Revenues of telecom provider Vega, which is operationally managed by PJSC Farlep Invest, decreased by 14% in 2022 compared with 2021 to UAH 428.4 million, the operator’s press service said Monday.
Revenue from services provided to B2B and B2C clients over modern fiber-optic networks in 2022 was 252 million UAH. More than half of that amount (51 percent) came from retail revenue from Internet and data services, the company said.
The net loss, according to the company’s unaudited figures in the information disclosure system of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market (NKTSBFR), amounted to 89.32 million UAH against a profit of 184.2 million UAH in 2021. At the meeting of the company shareholders on April 28, it was decided to cover the losses at the expense of future profits.
According to the company, the main source of its income remain broadband Internet access services by optical technology, IP-telephony for customers in the business segment and income from the sale of telecom services to other operators / providers.
In 2022 more than 16 thousand subscribers were connected by optical technologies, which is 60% more than in 2021 and 15% more than it was stipulated by the pre-war plans. The main driver of the base growth was connections to high-quality GPON (gigabit passive optic network), the demand for which increased in the conditions of prolonged power cuts. The number of new customers by the end of last year had increased sevenfold compared to the beginning of the year, the press service said.
“After the Russian invasion Vega was one of the first to resume GPON construction in Kiev, Odessa, Dnepr, Lvov, Kharkov and it is this reliable and high-quality technology that proved to be a lifesaver during the war, as it not only enables uninterrupted end-use communication without power supply, but is also more resistant to disruptions. Last year a total of 1.072 thousand new zones were built, which opened access to energy-efficient Internet for 150 thousand households,” – the press service quotes CEO of the national telecom operator Vega Sergei Skrypnikov.
The company stressed that thanks to the support of Vodafone Ukraine continued to invest in the expansion and modernization of networks, despite the challenges of the ongoing Russian aggression. Last year the capital investments of Vega increased by 32 % in comparison with the previous year and made up 103,1 million hrn.
Last year Farlep Invest PJSC transferred 105,7 million UAH of taxes and fees to the budgets of all levels.
The press release states that according to the initial assessment, the amount of direct losses incurred as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, excluding damage in the territories that are still occupied, amounted to 40 million UAH.
Since the beginning of the full-scale aggression, Vega has been developing and restoring the network, connecting new subscribers, maintaining stable operation of services and helping to provide critical infrastructure of the state and units of the AFU with communication. During the first war months the operator installed WI-FI in 102 shelters and bomb shelters in most regions of Ukraine, in which Ukrainians have the possibility to use free internet access during the air-raid response. On the whole, the company rendered assistance for 1.9 mln hryvnias. The company estimates additional costs for the purchase and operation of alternative energy sources at 8.6 million UAH, the report says.
Earlier it was reported that the telecom provider Vega in 2023 will continue to invest in the expansion of energy-efficient Internet network technology GPON and will begin replacing the FTTB networks (fiber to the building) in all locations.
The national telecom operator Vega is part of the Vodafone Ukraine group. The operator offers integrated solutions in fixed telephony, broadband Internet access and data transmission. The company is present in 22 regions of Ukraine. It provides Internet services on GPON technology in Kiev, Odessa, Dnipro, Lviv, Kharkiv. Operational management of Vega telecommunications group is carried out by Farlep-Invest PJSC.
European equity markets are mostly down on Tuesday after a long weekend. Investors are evaluating issuers’ reports and statistical data and are waiting this week for decisions on interest rates in the eurozone and the U.S.
The Stoxx Europe 600 composite index of the region’s largest companies lost 0.3 percent to 465.5 points as of 11:53 a.m.
The British FTSE 100 was little changed during the session. France’s CAC 40 is down 0.4%, Spain’s IBEX 35 is down 0.7%, Germany’s DAX is down 0.3%. Italy’s FTSE MIB is up 0.2%.
This week traders’ attention is focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting to be held on May 2-3. Experts generally expect the U.S. central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points (bps) at the upcoming meeting, MarketWatch noted. Investors will be waiting for signals from the Federal Reserve as to whether it is willing to pause in its policy tightening cycle.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is also meeting this week and its results will be summarized on Thursday. The consensus analyst forecast cited by Trading Economics expects the ECB’s lending and deposit rates to rise by 25 bps.
The annual growth rate of consumer prices in the euro area in April was 7%, according to preliminary data from the EU statistics office. The index coincided with the experts’ forecasts.
Meanwhile, retail sales in Germany decreased by 2.4% in March against the previous month, while analysts on average expected the index to increase by 0.4%.
The shares of French TotalEnergies went down in price by 1.7%. The firm entered into an agreement to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Adnoc Gas, a unit of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. The deal is expected to be worth $1-1.2 billion at current prices.
Rival BP Plc cut its key profit figure by 20.5% in the first quarter. The British oil and gas giant’s stock quotes are down 5.1%, although the above figure beat market forecasts.
Other representatives of the commodity sector are also the leaders of the decline in the UK. Rio Tinto capitalization is down 2.2%, Anglo American – 1.6%, BHP Group – 1.5%.
In turn, one of the growth leaders is HSBC Holdings Plc. The credit institution more than tripled its net profit in the first quarter and added 5.6% in market value.
Shares of other European banks also rose in price, including BNP Paribas – by 0.2%, Societe Generale – by 0.9%, Credit Agricole – by 0.4%, UniCredit – by 1.5%, Intesa Sanpaolo – by 0.5%.
The capitalization of Sweden’s Electrolux AB rises 2.3% after news about the possibility of its purchase by China’s Midea Group.
Registrations of new passenger cars in Ukraine in January-April increased by 32% compared to the same period of 2022 – up to 16.4 thousand, reports Ukravtoprom in Telegram-channel.
According to a report of the association on Tuesday, including in April registered 5,160 new cars – 14% more than the previous month and 4.3 times more than in April last year.
“However, solvent demand for new passenger cars lags behind the April 2021 figure by nearly 49%,” the association stated.
Toyota (805 units), Renault (543 units) and BMW (439 units) are in the top three of April registrations, followed by Volkswagen (417 cars) and Skoda (393 units).
Bestseller of the month in the Ukrainian market of new passenger cars, according to the report, once again became a compact crossover Renault Duster, which was chosen by 508 buyers.
As reported, AUTO-Consulting Information-Analytical Group in April recorded a slight decrease (by 1.6%) in sales of new cars compared to March of this year – to 5.122 thousand. And if the first two positions in the ranking coincide with the data of Ukravtoprom (Toyota and Renault), the third position among leaders was occupied by Volkswagen, and BMW took the fourth line.
Earlier it was also reported that in 2022, according to Ukravtoprom Ukrainians registered 37.9 thousand new cars – 63% less than in 2021, while according to AUTO-Consulting sales decreased by 61.5% – to 40.08 thousand units.
The support rating of Britain’s King Charles III has increased significantly over the past year, according to the results of a poll for The Times. According to its data, 62% of Britons believe that Charles III will be a good king. For comparison, in March 2022, this opinion was held by 39% of respondents. The poll also shows that 60% of Britons polled are in favor of retaining the monarchy. In turn, 26% want the head of state to be elected. Most supporters of the monarchy – among people over 65 years old, least of all – in the age group between 18 and 24 years old.
Earlier it was reported that the coronation ceremony of King of Great Britain Charles III will take place on May 6.
Buckingham Palace said representatives from more than 200 countries, including about 100 heads of state, will attend the ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
Queen Elizabeth II died Sept. 8, 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at age 96. On 10 September her son was proclaimed by the Crown Council as the new monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Charles III.
Under wartime conditions, medical companies are implementing services to support communication with patients.
As Anna Shved, Marketing Director of the Dobrobut Medical Network (Kyiv), reported the nurse, among such tools that the nurse is developing is the Dobrobut mobile application. With its help, a patient can make an appointment with the necessary doctor in any medical center of the network, look through the results of tests for examinations, doctors’ consultations, make an appointment for an online appointment and take it through the application, pay for services, and manage their visits, reschedule or cancel them.
In addition, the service makes it possible to upload medical documents received at other medical institutions, as well as to make an appointment not only to see a doctor, but also for tests, ultrasound, CT, MRI, and X-rays, without contacting the contact center.
The medical network is also introducing self-service terminals to get detailed information about a doctor’s visit without going to the reception desk or waiting in line.
In addition, Dobrobut is introducing online consultations through a mobile app.
“Currently, online appointments are open to more than 100 doctors in the network. The advantage is that it is a more secure channel than popular messengers. The physician can view the patient’s medical records needed for the online consultation. Communication between the patient and doctor can take place in chat, via audio or video. Adjustments to the treatment regimen, dramatic changes in health when there is no way to physically get to the doctor are the main reasons to go to the doctor online,” Shved said.
“Dobrobut is also actively using tools such as Viber and Telegram bots for patients unable to call the contact center and communicate with coordinators, for example, when they are overseas.
“In the near future, we plan to expand the functionality of this communication channel and improve its performance. Understanding the customer’s journey and expectations, we want to be where it’s convenient for them to be. Self-service is a modern trend throughout the civilized world, including in medicine. We follow this trend, the more so as the martial law environment makes us react more dynamically to new challenges and adjust to new realities”, – summarized Shved.
In his turn, general director of the CSD LAB medical laboratory (Kyiv) Oleksandr Dudin noted that in laboratory segment, digitalization is, in particular, an obligatory part of quality control and one of the factors that ensure speed of examinations and accuracy of their results.
He said that CSD LAB’s investments in IT development “have reached hundreds of thousands of dollars. The company has developed several of its own IT products, particularly a medical program for the pathomorphology lab.
“Together with Yadro Systems, we created a special program for the pathomorphology lab because there were not even slightly similar products on the market. Our software, SlidePath, helps manage workflows, which is as convenient as possible for the pathologist. And you can watch the specimen at every step,” says Dudin.
The CSD LAB director noted that it is difficult to calculate how much money the company saves through digitalization because digitalization is “about optimizing workflows, ensuring speed of analysis, and accurate reproducibility of results.”
“Our pathomorphology lab has equipment that scans histology slides and allows pathologists from anywhere in the world to examine biomaterial and establish a diagnosis,” he said.
Dudin explained that this innovation was previously used effectively by the company to get advice from international partners and the world’s leading pathologists on complex, unique clinical cases, but since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, CSD LAB has also started actively using the scanner in daily work when pathomorphologists have had to work in different parts of Ukraine.
“The ability to scan histology slides has helped to keep working on studies whose results often determine a healthy future and sometimes even the lives of our clients,” he said.
Dudin said that the process of digitalization requires significant financial investment, but “it is necessary and without the introduction of the latest digital technology, modern laboratory diagnostics is impossible.”
As reported in May 2022, the European Business Association (EBA) Committee on Healthcare stated that one of the components of the post-war reconstruction of the Ukrainian healthcare system should be full digitalization of the system, including accessible telemedicine, electronic medical records and electronic prescriptions.
MEDICAL COMPANIES, PATIENTS, SERVICES, support communication
