S&P Global Ratings has affirmed its ‘B-‘ long-term issuer credit rating on the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. The outlook is stable, S&P has said in a press release.
After debt restructuring, the city of Kyiv has no commercial debt, and its direct debt consists of intergovernmental obligations to Ukraine’s central government. The city’s cash reserves will likely remain high and serve as a buffer in case the city needs to support its government-related entities, S&P said.
The stable outlook reflects our view that, in 2018-2020, Kyiv’s strong budgetary performance and solid cash position will counterbalance institutional uncertainties and the potential crystallization of contingent liabilities.
Exports of walnuts from Ukraine in 2017 totaled 31,000 tonnes or $101 million, the Ukrsadprom association has reported.
“Traditionally the leading exported goods were walnuts ($101 million) and frozen and boiled fruit ($61 million). Businessmen received large revenue from supplies of various berries – $11 million, drupaceous fruit ($10 million) and apples and pears ($7 million),” Ukrsadprom Head Dmytro Kroshka told Interfax-Ukraine.
Exports of walnuts in kind fell from 40,000 tonnes to 31,000 tonnes, and exports of frozen, boiled and raw fruit remained at 42,000 tonnes.
The association said that revenue grew thanks to growth of exports prices of walnuts, first of all, shelled nuts. Exports of pomaceous fruit grew from 14,000 tonnes to 24,000 tonnes, thanks to apples, and drupaceous fruit from 2,000 tonnes to 12,000 tonnes, mainly thanks to cherries and plums.
In addition, blueberry and honeysuckle are becoming more popular in Ukraine, as well as organic fruit. Industrial enterprises planted currant, blackberry, chokeberry trees and hazel nut trees.
“These crops will soon take a worthy place in the structure of production and exports, since their planting is not an experiment, but it is connected with the demand for them from new partners,” the expert said.
In general, according to Ukrsadprom, the export of fruit and berry products in 2017 exceeded $195 million, having increased by almost a third compared to 2016.
“The main achievement in the export for Ukraine was the creation of a surplus in trade balance for the traditional products for us, as well as an almost twofold increase in the average selling price. The EU countries have become the main vector of the export of Ukrainian fruit and berry products,” the association said.
Gadz Farm (Ternopil region) intends to start production of juice, puree, jam, marmalade and baby food in 2019.
“This year we plan to sign an agreement on cooperation with foreign companies that produce equipment for processing fruits and vegetables. Next year we intend to launch production of juice, puree, jam and marmalade at full capacity. In addition, we will develop production of baby food for different age groups, depending on the needs of children,” the report said.
Currently, the leadership of Gadz is negotiating with the representatives of the Italian companies FME and Navatta Group on the supply of new special equipment and the selection of packaging technologies for products.
Gadz farm was established in 2011. It specializes in cultivation of fruits and berries, the sale of seedlings. It has more than 600 hectares of orchards (apples, pears, plums). In future it plans to expand the garden area to 2,500 hectares.
BABY FOOD, GADZ FARM, JAM, JUICE, MARMALADE, PRODUCTION, PUREE
Public joint-stock company Svitoch Lviv confectionary factory under control of Nestle, a large confectionary producer in Ukraine, exported 1,328 tonnes of products in 2017, Operations Supervisor Ihor Savka has said.
“In 2017, we doubled exports compared with the previous year, to 1,328 tonnes,” he said at a press conference in Lviv last week.
He said that the company plans to boost exports. In 2018, Nestle seeks to increase production of Lion chocolate bars by 20% for these purposes.
Savka said that the largest volume of chocolate bars is exported to Brazil.
“Last year 400 tonnes of Lion bars were exported to Brazil,” Savka said.
In turn, Director for Corporate and Public Relations at Nestle in Ukraine Volodymyr Spivak said that the key importer of Svitoch products is Hungary, as well as Poland and Germany.
Savka said that the plant plans to invest UAH 95 million in 2018 compared with UAH 31 million in 2017 and UAH 149 million in 2016.
Nestle owns 96.96% of shares in Svitoch.
Odesa-based Automagistral-Yug has launched an asphalt concrete factory in Novomoskovsk, Dnipropetrovsk region, the company’s press service has reported.
According to the report, the factory is the 15th production facility of the company in Ukraine and the fourth in Dnipropetrovsk region.
“The factory in Novomoskovsk is built at our industrial base. We have completely restored our facility – we have overhauled and equipped a dormitory for 120 people, renewed the railway tracks, the laboratory and the repair base. About UAH 60 million was invested in construction of the factory. The total investment in production facilities in Dnipropetrovsk region is approaching UAH 150-170 million over the past few years,” Director General of Automagistral-Yug Mykola Tymofeyev said.
According to the company, the production capacity of the factory in Novomoskovsk is 240 tonnes of asphalt per hour. The new enterprise will allow the company to implement the construction of high-speed highway H-31 (Dnipro-Kobeliaky-Reshetylivka). According to the director general, the company began work on the highway last year and should build 57 km of the first category road with four lanes within several years.
Automagistral-Yug LLC was registered in 2006. According to the company’s website, it owns 10 factories producing asphalt mixes, eight own production bases of the construction divisions of the enterprise in six regions of Ukraine.
Freenet LLC Internet provider (the O3 trademark, Kyiv) increased its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by 24.1% in 2017, to UAH 73.87 million, and its subscribers’ base expanded by 11%, to 134,400 users.
The press service of the company reported last week that in the past five years gross revenue of the operator soared 2.6-fold, including by 23.4% in 2017, to UAH 178.2 million.
EBITDA margin reached 50% in 2017.
Last year the company invested UAH 84.46 million in development of own networks, which is UAH 20 million more than in 2016.
Today Freenet has 17 branches and subscribers’ servicing centers in nine regions of Ukraine.
Freenet provides services under the O3trademark. It is the national operator of broadband Internet access.
The company builds networks using FTTx technology using 10 and 40 gigabit fiber-optic cables.
