The KSG Agro agricultural holding completed January-March 2021 with a net profit of $750,000 versus $3.02 million of a net loss for the same period in 2020.
According to the holding’s report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange website, its revenue over this period increased by 9%, to $3.52 million, and the company’s EBITDA by 21%, to $1.39 million.
According to the results of the first quarter, KSG Agro increased its gross profit by 18% compared to the first quarter of 2020, to $1.26, operating profit by 39%, to $1.01 million.
“As of the date of these financial statements, the total balance of ‘other financial liabilities’ as of December 31, 2020 decreased by an additional $9.4 million, with the current portion of this amount being $3.4 million. Liabilities were partially settled in cash and partially due to disposal subsidiaries Agrarian Firm Vesna LLC, Trading House UAIH LLC and Soyuz-3 LLC,” the agricultural holding said in the financial statements.
According to the agricultural producer, the retirement of three subsidiaries from the agricultural holding led to an increase in its consolidated capital from a negative value of $6.2 million “closer to a positive value.”
According to KSG Agro Board Chairman Serhiy Kasyanov, the main factors behind the growth of financial indicators were a decrease in unproductive costs, as well as an increase in demand for pork in the first quarter of 2021 after a drop in prices at the end of 2020.
The total revenue of KSG Agro from pig breeding and meat processing in the first quarter of 2021 amounted to $2.51 million, almost at the level of the same reporting period of 2020 ($2.56 million).
KSG Agro’s revenue from agricultural crops production amounted to $ 840,000 (versus $100,000 in January-March 2020). The company said that as an alternative source of income, KSG Agro used its equipment and experience to provide services for the preparation and processing of land for other agricultural producers, which brought in $720,000 in revenue.
According to the financial statements, coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic did not have a significant impact on the profitability of the agricultural holding, it is expected that the event in the future will not have a significant impact on its business operations in future periods.
The company’s spring sowing campaign started in early April as scheduled. The plans of the spring sowing campaign are to sow 7,100 hectares with wheat, some 1,860 hectares with rapeseed and some 1,180 hectares with barley. The pig stock of the company in the first quarter of 2021 decreased by 1.7%, to 40,720 pigs.
According to the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders, the agricultural holding in 2020 took 11th place in the rating of Ukrainian pork producers (the rating was compiled on the basis of data on the total breeding stock of pigs), having sold 11,760 tonnes of pork in live weight over the year.
Primary registrations of new passenger cars in Ukraine in January-April this year increased by 31% compared to the same period in 2020, to 31,100 units, Ukrautoprom reports.
According to the association, including in April, primary registrations more than tripled compared to the same month in 2020, to more than 10,000 units.
However, such a significant increase is explained by an extremely low comparison base, which was caused by the strict quarantine restrictions due to COVID-19, which were in force in Ukraine in April last year, the association notes.
Compared to March of this year, the demand for new cars in April increased by 11%.
At the same time, the sales leader changed last month: Toyota came out on top with a nearly four-fold increase in sales to 1,618 units. Renault moved down to the second place, sales of which increased by 58%, to 1,215 cars.
The third position with more than three-fold growth in sales from April 2020 was kept by Kia with 830 units. The fourth result was shown by Skoda with 616 new cars (3.4 times more), and Volkswagen closes the five leading brands with more than nine-fold growth in sales with 482 cars.
According to the above statistics, in April, the Chinese Chery moved to the sixth position in the ranking (against the 15th in April 2020) due to an almost six-fold increase in registrations (up to 416 units).
The bestseller of the month was the compact crossover KIA Sportage with 640 new cars registered.
During one year of operation in Ukraine, IKEA has processed more than 148,000 orders in an online store and more than 8,000 orders in a bricks-and-mortar store in Kyiv, the press service of the company has told Interfax-Ukraine.
As reported in its press release, IKEA began entering the country’s market on May 14, 2020 with the launch of an online store. As of the end of April 2021, more than 2.528 million Ukrainians have already visited the company’s website.
The first bricks-and-mortar store of the urban format was opened on February 1, 2021 in Kyiv’s Blockbuster Mall. During the first months, it received over 397,000 visitors.
“I want to emphasize that the Ukrainian market is very important for IKEA. We strive to expand our activities on it, offering a wide range of functional products with attractive designs and prices for as many Ukrainians as possible,” the press service said, citing IKEA Market Leader in Ukraine Florian Mellet.
According to the press service, now IKEA in Ukraine offers about 5,000 affordable goods and solutions for home in all categories and styles of its assortment.
The most popular items in the online store are PARKLA storage boxes, SPRUTTIG hangers and ISTAD sealed bags. At the same time, SPRUTTIG hangers, OFTAST plates (white, 25 cm) and BERGENES bamboo stands for a mobile phone/tablet are most often bought in the IKEA bricks-and-mortar store.
In May 2020, the official launch of the IKEA online store in Ukraine took place in parallel with pick-up points in the Kyiv shopping centers Auchan Rive Gauche and Metro Cash & Carry. In December 2020, the third pick-up point was opened at the Lavina Mall.
The Kyiv office of Baker McKenzie provided legal support for the opening of an IKEA bricks-and-mortar store in Kyiv.
DYNAMICS OF CHANGES IN POPULATION OF UKRAINE FROM 1991-2021
The Ministry of Health, together with the State Service for Medicines and Drug Control, have developed a draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers on the introduction of electronic trade in medicines, Deputy Health Minister Ihor Ivaschenko said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Monday.
“The Ministry of Health, together with the State Medicines Service, developed and submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers a draft resolution on amending the licensing conditions for the implementation of economic activities for the production, import, wholesale and retail trade of medicines, as well as their delivery to the end consumer. This is the so-called introduction of electronic trading in medicines and their delivery to patients,” he said.
Ivaschenko also said that the draft resolution provides for the possibility of entities that carry out retail trade in pharmaceuticals to carry out electronic trade in pharmaceuticals and ensure their delivery to end consumers.
“The draft resolution itself provides for the establishment of appropriate requirements for licensees, which, first of all, will relate to the availability of pharmacies, appropriate premises for the implementation of electronic commerce, the availability of material and technical equipment for transportation and delivery, or the possibility of concluding agreements with postal operators for the implementation of such transportation,” the deputy minister said.
“The draft resolution details the requirements for the website on which orders can be made, as well as requirements for persons who will accept and form orders. Additionally, it sets requirements for the delivery of medicines and the possibility of consulting patients,” Ivaschenko said.
The Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine has established rules for labeling meat, olive oil and honey in accordance with EU legislation, regulating the procedure for entering data on the country and place of origin on the packaging of products, the department said on the website on Monday.
According to resolution No. 679 dated April 1, 2021 promulgated by the department, the marking is established for fresh, chilled and frozen poultry meat, cattle, pork, lamb and goat meat, by-products of cattle and poultry, honey, virgin olive oil and extra virgin olive oil.
The document prescribes the indication on the packaging of meat and its products of the following information: country (countries) of origin, fattening, slaughter of animals; a number or code for reference providing a link between the meat and the animal (group of animals) from which the meat was obtained; registration number and country of location of the abattoir; registration number and country of the meat stripping and deboning capacity.
Labeling refers to products manufactured in Ukraine or imported (sent) into the customs territory of Ukraine, at all stages of their sale. The document does not apply to products intended for personal consumption.
The resolution comes into force from the day of its official publication and is put into effect three years from the date of its entry into force.
The document specifies that products made before the entry into force of this resolution, but do not meet its requirements, may be in circulation until the end date of consumption or expiration date.
“The resolution was drafted on the basis of the requirements of the EU acts and is another step towards our European integration, as well as the creation of a common food market with the European Union. As a result of the adoption of the resolution, consumers will receive more detailed information about the country or place of origin of food products. This will also allow to reduce opportunities for counterfeiting and falsification of food products,” Deputy Economy Minister Serhiy Hluschenko said.
