Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

“Agrotrade” harvested over 255 thsd tonnes of grains and oilseeds

In 2023, Agrotrade harvested more than 255 thsd tonnes of grains and oilseeds, some of which showed record yields, the company’s press service reported on its Facebook page on Thursday.

“For the company, 2023 was one of the best years in terms of yields over the past five years. The harvest of corn, winter rapeseed and soybeans was particularly high. In addition, last year we switched to conventional mustard cultivation for the first time and immediately exceeded our threshing plans,” said Oleksandr Ovsyanyk, Director of the Agricultural Department, as quoted by the group’s press service.

He added that the company’s successful results were achieved, in particular, thanks to effective fertilizer and plant protection technologies, a high level of selection of varieties and hybrids, and favorable weather conditions.

According to the report, in 2023, the agricultural holding grew and harvested 84.8 thousand tons of corn, almost 70 thousand tons of wheat, 52.5 thousand tons of winter rape, 29.5 thousand tons of sunflower, 15.7 thousand tons of soybeans, 2.5 thousand tons of mustard and other crops.

As reported, in 2023, Agrotrade supplied about 350 thsd tonnes of grain to the global market. The share of own agricultural products amounted to 35% or 116 thsd tonnes, and third-party producers – 65% or 230 thsd tonnes.

The Agrotrade Group is a vertically integrated holding company with a full agro-industrial cycle (production, processing, storage and trade of agricultural products). The company cultivates over 70 thousand hectares of land in Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava and Kharkiv regions. Its main crops are sunflower, corn, winter wheat, soybeans and rapeseed. It has its own network of elevators with a simultaneous storage capacity of 570 thousand tons.

The group also produces hybrid seeds of corn and sunflower, barley, and winter wheat. In 2014, a seed plant with a capacity of 20 thousand tons of seeds per year was built on the basis of Kolos seed farm (Kharkiv region). In 2018, Agrotrade launched its own brand Agroseeds on the market.

Vsevolod Kozhemiako is the founder and CEO of Agrotrade.

, , ,

Cabinet of Ministers plans to sell Kyiv’s Hotel Ukraina for UAH 1 bln

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has included Hotel Ukraina in the list of large-scale privatization targets.

The relevant order was published on the government’s website.

As reported, the State Property Fund plans to hold an auction for the privatization of the Ukraina Hotel in late summer 2024. The property is estimated at UAH 1.039 billion (excluding VAT).

The capital’s Ukraina Hotel is a state-owned enterprise managed by the SPF. It has 363 rooms, six conference halls and meeting rooms. There is a parking lot for 80 cars and a shelter with a separate auditorium for 50 people. The hotel’s debt is currently over UAH 45 million.

Fuel price developments for 2022-2023

Fuel price developments for 2022-2023

Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news

 

“Sumykhimprom” resumes production after long pause

PJSC Sumykhimprom, the only state-owned titanium dioxide producer in Ukraine managed by the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF), has resumed operations after a long pause, according to the industry news agency Infoindustry.

“In the spring of 2024, raw materials were purchased and production of the first products began. The first commercial product, ammonium sulfate, was received this week, on April 21-22, 2024. The goods are already being shipped to customers at a price of UAH 13800 per ton, big bag, from the plant’s warehouse,” the agency said.

According to him, the plant intends to produce nitrogen-phosphorus and complex three-component fertilizers. The manufacturer has already purchased ammonia and sulfur and is in the process of purchasing phosphate rock and potash ores for fertilizer production. The new management of PJSC Sumykhimprom is open to cooperation with distributors and partners to revive the titanium giant, the statement said.

“Sumykhimprom is one of the largest domestic enterprises producing complex mineral fertilizers, titanium dioxide, sulfuric acid and other inorganic chemicals. The company is one of the top three budget-forming enterprises in Sumy and the region and produces more than 30 brands of NPK fertilizers with different nutrient ratios for different soil and climate zones.

For over 10 years, the plant had been managed by a group of companies affiliated with Dmitry Firtash’s Group DF. In November 2023, the Commercial Court of Sumy Region granted the petition of the SPF and the Ministry of Justice and closed the bankruptcy and rehabilitation proceedings against the state-owned Sumykhimprom.

Concorde Capital to carry out large-scale reconstruction of Kyiv Bus Station

Investment company Concorde Capital is implementing a project to reconstruct the Kyiv Bus Station, located near the Central Railway Station (Vokzalna Metro Station), better known as the Yama, Concorde Capital founder Igor Mazepa said on Wednesday.

“My colleagues and I came up with an idea, why don’t we go in… take a closer look at the transportation market from the investment point of view… At Concorde, we decided to enter this market through infrastructure projects… (to start) with the reconstruction of the well-known Kyiv bus station, which is located in the city center near the railway station,” Mazepa said during a video presentation at the conference “Reforming Passenger Bus Transportation in Ukraine.”

According to the investment company, the passenger flow of this station is about 10 thousand people per day, plus or minus 400 bus trips.

Mazepa noted that the central bus station, in fact, was “in a terrible state” until recently.

“Now our task, our mission, is to carry out a human reconstruction in accordance with European standards. I can assure you that you will soon see the changes that will take place there,” Mazepa said.

At the same time, the founder of the investment company noted that the reconstruction would require significant capital investments.

“We are not afraid of this and we can guarantee that our customers and passengers will soon receive the highest quality service. Of course, we will ask that such services be paid for fairly,” Mazepa said.

According to Igor Sotnyk, director of Concorde Capital’s investment banking department, the reconstruction of the bus station is planned in two stages. The first stage, which separated bus and car traffic, has already been completed. The second stage involves work on the improvement of the bus station building in accordance with the concept that is currently being developed.

“We are now finalizing the mix of tenants who will be present there according to the needs of passengers. There will be a waiting area, a food court, a high-comfort zone, a children’s room, a first-aid post, and commercial premises,” Sotnyk said, adding that a working draft will be prepared after the concept is finalized.

In addition, the possibility of creating services for carriers – service stations and car washes – is being considered. The technical possibilities for their placement are being studied.

Sotnyk also said that the exact timing of the start of work will be known after the working documentation is ready, but expressed hope that this could happen in early 2025.

Mazepa estimated the legal road transportation market in Ukraine at almost UAH 7 billion. According to him, taking into account illegal transportation and those from which taxes are not paid, the real size of the market is “many times larger.”

, ,

Oschadbank to pay UAH 6 bln in income tax and dividends to budget

State-owned Oschadbank (Kyiv) has so far paid UAH 4.2 billion in income tax and UAH 0.7 billion in dividends to the budget based on the results of its operations in 2023 and plans to make another final payment of UAH 1.1 billion, the Oschadbank press service said at the request of Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

“The budget will receive a total of UAH 6 billion from income tax and dividends, UAH 0.5 billion is taken into account in the calculations for previous periods,” the press service of the financial institution noted.

According to the finalized financial results, the bank earned UAH 6 billion in net profit last year, which, according to the bank, is the second highest figure in the market after PrivatBank.

As of March 1, 2024, Oschad ranked second in terms of total assets (UAH 376.4 billion) among 63 banks in the country.

, , ,