The small business spirit index in 2018 was 3.2 points out of the maximum possible five, which corresponds to a neutral level, according to a study conducted by the European Business Association (EBA). According to a report on the EBA’s website, small business representatives are optimistic about the prospects for development this year: out of the 278 interviewed owners and directors of small enterprises in all spheres of activity 76% expect business to improve in the next six months, while 87% forecast profit growth in 2018.
More than half of the companies surveyed plan to increase the number of employees, while 57% to raise wages, 64% to increase the amount of financing their business in 2018, the report says.
At the same time, the materials of the study indicate that 40% of the companies polled were founded in the crisis years of 2015-2017.
“The survey shows the orientation of small businesses to exports. Some 27% of the companies surveyed have already entered foreign markets, and 30.3% plan to do this this year. The companies intend to develop their enterprises and reinvest their earnings in their own business,” the report states.
However, small business development is hampered by difficulties in obtaining loans. According to the survey, 82% of the surveyed heads of companies admitted that they need credit funds, 65% of respondents have difficulties with this, in particular 15.5% of them say that borrowings are “absolutely impossible.” “In general, 68.2% of respondents believe that the economic situation in Ukraine does not contribute to the development of small business, and only 3% of respondents are completely satisfied with the business climate in Ukraine,” the release says.
T.B.Fruit, one of the largest processors of fruits and berries in Ukraine, has built a line for production of pectin at its own juice factory Yablunevy Dar LLC (Horodok, Lviv region). According to a report on the website of T.B.Fruit, the production capacity of the pectin line will be about 1,500 tonnes per year, while the total demand in the world is about 40,000 tonnes. “We have an opportunity to increase the production capacity to 3,000 tonnes if necessary,” Roman Zuzok, the vice president for sales and corporate development, said.
According to him, the company plans to become a member of the International Pectin Producers Association (IPPA). According to the latter, pectin consumption in the world market annually grows by 5%.
T.B.Fruit group of companies was established in July 2011 after the merger of all the assets of businessman Taras Barschovsky, namely Yablunevy Dar, the Polish fruit processing factories T.B.Fruit Dwikozy and T.B.Fruit Annopol, Tank Trans Ukraine LLC and Tank Trans Polska, engaged in domestic and international transportation of liquid cargo by road tankers, as well as the horticultural complex T.B. Sad (700 hectares of apple, cherry, strawberry and raspberry gardens).
T.B.Fruit owns eight plants for production of juice not from concentrate, fruit purees and frozen fruits and vegetables in Ukraine, Moldova, and Poland. In Ukraine, T.B.Fruit produces juice under the Galicia trademark.
The Vodafone Ukraine mobile operator plans to launch 4G communications in the 2600MHz band in 20 cities of Ukraine from March 30 to April 2, CEO of the operator Olha Ustinova has said at a press conference. “We have to get bills for permissions for base stations and pay for them by the end of March 29. If the Ukrainian State Center of Radio Frequencies manages to issue all the papers for all 28 cities, tomorrow or at least from Monday we will launch 4G communications in the first cities,” she declared.
Ustinova stressed that Vodafone Ukraine will gradually launch the 4G mobile communications in the 2600MHz range, the first launch of the technology will cover 20 cities: Kyiv, three cities in Kyiv region (Boryspil, Vyshneve, Chabany), Dnipro, Pavlohrad (Dnipropetrovsk region), Kharkiv, Kupiansk (Kharkiv region), Zaporizhia, Energodar (Zaporizhia region), Lviv, Poltava, Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Novoselytsia (Chernivtsi region), Lutsk, Kropyvnytsky, Odesa, and Kherson.
By July the 4G network will be launched in 28 cities, including Brovary, Irpin (Kyiv region), Lymanka (Odesa region), Berdiansk (Zaporizhia region), Uzhgorod, Mukachevo (Zakarpattia region), Palianytsia, and Yaremche (Ivano-Frankivsk region). The company notes that more than 30% of subscribers are ready to use 4G communications, and the average traffic consumption per subscriber in the operator’s network is 4 Gb. At the same time, it is expected that with the introduction of the fourth generation communications technology, the consumed traffic will double.
Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) is ready to invest EUR 76 million in the partial restoration of Doux Group suffering economic difficulties, the press service of the agricultural holding has told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the press service, at present the French chicken producer LDC and the Ukrainian agroholding MHP are simultaneously negotiating the purchase of the French food processing company Doux.
MHP said it had submitted a “mandatory offer for the partial restoration” of Doux. In particular, the holding proposes to invest EUR76 million in the construction of a new plant in Chateaulin (France) within two years and modernize other facilities.
In addition, MHP is ready to change the strategy, in particular, to abandon production of frozen products for exports, replacing them with fresh ones for the French market.
As reported, MHP on March 9, 2018 filed documents to the industry restructuring committee of France (Comité Interministériel de Restructuration Industrielle) for the restoration of Doux Group suffering economic difficulties. MHP estimates the amount of required investments to restore the group at EUR 150 million, while requiring that at least EUR70 million be compensated at the expense of state subsidies.
Net loss of Avangard agroholding, the largest egg producer in Ukraine, was 86.7% less in 2017, reaching $7.5 million, the holding reported on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday. Consolidated revenue fell by 335, to $127.9 million, including revenue from exports of shell eggs and dry egg products fell by 45%, to $36.7 million. Operating loss fell by 74.4%, to $3.8 million, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew almost 7.9-fold, to $11.8 million.
The agroholding said that in October-December 2017, the company saw $13.1 million of net profit compared with $17.8 million of net loss a year ago. Consolidated revenue fell by 45%, to $43.7 million, while operating profit grew 1.77-fold, to $20.8 million and EBITDA – 1.08-fold, to $23.6 million.
Shell egg production fell by 4% in 2017, to 2.399 million, while sales grew by 23%, to 1.869 million. As at December 31, 2017, the total poultry flock amounted to 9.5 million hens, down by 30% year-over-year. Average price of eggs fell by 13% in 2017, to UAH 1.17 per egg (excluding VAT).
The production of dry egg products amounted to 6,368 tonnes, a decline of 48% year-over-year. Sales of dry egg products totaled 3,264 tonnes, down by 64% year-over-year. Exports of dry egg products amounted to 2,561 tonnes, a decline of 69% year-over-year. The average sales price of dry egg products was $4.3 per kg, 23% down year-over-year.
As reported, Ukrlandfarming agricultural holding in 2017 reduced the land bank by 5.8%. Ukraine’s largest producer of eggs Avangard agricultural holding, controlled by Ukrlandfarming, whose shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange, in October 2015 completed the restructuring of eurobonds for $200 million. Previously American Cargill has withdrawn from among the shareholders of Ukrainian-based UkrLandFarming (ULF) agrarian holding, according to a ULF financial report for 2016. Cargill’s subsidiary, Cargill Financial Services International Inc. by the end of 2015, had held 1,668,749 ULF shares, or 5% of the total number. By the end of 2016, the number of shares owned by Avonex Limited had not changed, whereas the package held by Cargill was transferred to Cyprus-based Quickcom Limited’s ownership. The report says that the sole owner of Avonex Limited and Quickcom Limited is Oleh Bakhmatiuk. Cargill acquired a 5% stake in ULF early in 2014 for $200 million. Based on the sum of the deal, the total value of the holding was assessed at $4 billion.
The mobile communications operator Vodafone Ukraine plans to increase its store chain to 200 by the end of 2018 and change the franchise conditions for partner stores, Sales Director of Vodafone Ukraine Yevhen Bulakh said at a press conference in Kyiv. “By the end of the year, we plan to increase the number of our own stores to 200. We also have ambitious goals: to change the terms of partnership for our franchising stores, to change the requirements for them… with the aim of having, by the middle of next year, absolutely the same infrastructure in ours as well and in partners’ stores,” he said.
According to Bulakh, now the company has 30 own stores, as well as 400 stores that operate under a franchising scheme. He also said that by the end of 2019 it is planned to increase the number of own stores to 300-350 facilities. In addition, Vodafone Ukraine plans the use of VR-technologies in retail. At the same time, Bulakh did not specify the term when this technology appear in stores.
