Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

UNITED CARDBOARD COMPANY UKRAINE WITH CYPRIOT OWNER COULD MERGE ASSETS OF LOBOV’S UNITED CARDBOARD COMPANY

KYIV. July 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – United Cardboard Company Ukraine LLC registered late 2016 could acquire a controlling stake in United Cardboard Company LLC of businessman Mykola Lobov (both based in Lutsk), as well as in two corrugated cardboard and corrugated packaging manufacturers – Yug Karton Ukraine LLC and Lutsk Cardboard and Paper Factory LLC, which are incorporated in the United Cardboard Company.
The press service of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine said last week that the committee permitted to acquire these stakes. The acquisition will grant over 50% of the votes in the management body of each company.
According to the public register, United Cardboard Company Ukraine LLC was registered in December 2016 with a charter capital of UAH 11 million (the creation of the company will be finished by late 2017). Its founder is Cyprus-based LN Cardboard Group. The ultimate beneficiary is Alberto Lanza (registered in Belize).
In turn, United Cardboard Company LLC was created in 2009. It incorporates Yug Karton (production facilities in Mykolaiv), Lutsk Cardboard and Paper Factory and Poninka Cardboard and Paper Mill (production facilities in Khmelnytsky region).
The owners of United Cardboard Company LLC with a charter capital of UAH 10 million are Mykola Lobov (70%) and Svitlana Lobova (30%).
United Cardboard Company LLC owns Yug Karton LLC founded in 2009, and Mykola Lobov fully owns Yug Karton Ukraine LLC with a charter capital of UAH 50,000 registered in February 2016 in Lutsk.
According to the public register, Lutsk Cardboard and Paper Factory LLC was registered in 2012. Its charter capital is UAH 301,000. Zinaida Lobodenko holds 100% of shares in the company.
In January 2017, Lutsk Cardboard and Paper Factory Ukraine LLC was registered at the same address with the charter capital of UAH 100,000. Ruben Alberto Lanza fully owns the company.
According to the Ukrpapir association, in H1 2017 Lutsk Cardboard and Paper Factory Ukraine produced almost 20,000 tonnes of commodity cardboard, 2,000 tonnes of box cardboard, 2,500 tonnes of cover board and 350 tonnes of roofing board, while Lutsk Cardboard and Paper Factory saw a 85% fall in production of box cardboard year-over-year, to 4,000 tonnes, and the factory did not produce other types of cardboard anymore.
The similar situation is with Poninka Cardboard and Paper Mill where production fell by more than 67%, to UAH 46.5 million, and Poninka Cardboard and Paper Mill Ukraine which earlier did not produce goods made products for UAH 376 million.
Poninka Cardboard and Paper Mill Ukraine LLC was registered in Lutsk in January 2017 with the charter capital of UAH 100,000 at the same address as Lutsk Cardboard and Paper Factory. Its owner is United Cardboard Company Ukraine LLC. The owner of Poninka Cardboard and Paper Mill LLC is United Cardboard Company LLC (Lobov).

AGRARIAN FUND SEES 2.8-FOLD RISE IN NET PROFIT IN H1 2017

KYIV. July 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Net profit of public joint-stock company Agrarian Fund saw a 2.8-fold rise in net profit in January-June 2017, to UAH 70.18 million.
According to a financial report of the company, its revenue in H1 2017 totaled UAH 1.82 billion compared with UAH 1.31 billion in H1 2016.
Gross profit of the Agrarian Fund in January-June 2017 fell by 3.7%, to UAH 224.7 million. The company saw a 2.6-fold rise in operating profit, to UAH 106.1 million.
The fund sold 286,300 tonnes of grain, 122,700 tonnes of flour and 44,300 tonnes of processed food in January-June 2017. Over the period the company exported 19,000 tonnes of grain and 6,900 tonnes of grain products.
In 2016, the fund saw a 69% fall in net profit, to UAH 48.7 million. Revenue totaled UAH 2.1 billion and pretax profit – UAH 410 million.
Agrarian Fund was established in spring 2013 by the government decree. Its charter capital is UAH 5 billion.

DEPOSIT GUARANTEE FUND SELLS DTEK DNIPROOBLENERGO’S SHARES AT HALF PRICE

KYIV. July 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Deposit Guarantee Fund has sold 250 shares of PJSC DTEK Dniprooblenergo for UAH 40,000 at an auction on the Ukrainian Exchange, securities broker Kyiv-based Dragon Capital wrote on Facebook.
In addition, 1,200 shares of UkrAuto Corporation were sold for UAH 108,001 during the auction.
Dragon Capital said that the starting price of DTEK Dniprooblenergo’s shares was set at UAH 25,000, while that of UkrAuto’s shares at UAH 60,000.
Ukraine’s State Property Fund earlier announced auctions to sell stakes in eight power distribution companies (oblenergos) and energy generation companies.
An auction to sell 1, 497,904 shares of DTEK Dniprooblenergo (a 25% stake) is scheduled for August 17. It will be held on the Kyiv International Stock Exchange. The starting price of the stake is set at UAH 490.054 million, i.e. UAH 327.16 per share, whereas the Deposit Guarantee Fund sold shares at a price of UAH 160 each.
DTEK Dniprooblenergo’s shares by the end of trading on July 27 became cheaper by 5.45%, being traded at UAH 156 per each. There were no deals with the securities on Friday.

ENERGY REGULATOR APPROVES LEGAL BASE FOR TRANSFER OF UKRENERGO TO RAB

KYIV. July 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The National Commission for Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation (NCER) has approved some resolutions required for the transfer of national energy company Ukrenergo to Regulatory Asset Base (RAB) regulation.
The regulator approved the document at a meeting in Kyiv on Thursday.
“This is a full package for the introduction of the incentive based tariff formation for main power lines and state-owned enterprise Ukrenergo… International organizations that actively issue loans to Ukrenergo have been waiting for this package for a long period of time,” NCER Head Dmytro Vovk said.
The regulatory income limit for these companies is set at 12.5%.
Ukrenergo operates trunk and interstate power grids, as well as carries out the centralized dispatching of the united power system of the country. The company is owned by the state and subordinated to the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry.

HEALTH MINISTRY SIGNS CONTRACT TO PROCURE MEDICINES USING 2017 BUDGET FUNDS

KYIV. July 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Health Ministry has signed contracts to procure medicines and medical products using the 2017 national budget funds with three international organizations.
Acting Health Minister Ulana Suprun said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday that the contracts for UAH 5.9 billion were signed with the organizations which have already taken part in public procurement – the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UNICEF and Britain’s Crown Agents.
Suprun said that 98% of medicines, vaccines and medical products have been procured using 2016 budget funds, and 57% of them have been delivered and 44% have been distributed among the regions.
“When we saw old procurement lists we saw out-of-date medicines and the wrong distribution of funds for medicines,” she said.
Suprun also said that it is hard to compile information about the needs in medicines from the regions.

VESCO CLAY PRODUCER LAUNCHES NEW QUARRY, SEEKS TO BOOST CLAY PRODUCTION BY 21% IN 2017

KYIV. July 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Vesco, uniting clay mining business of UMG investment company under control of SCM, has launched quarry one of the Zakhidny section of Druzhkivka mine and seeks to boost clay production and sales by 21% in 2017, to 2.9 million tonnes.
The company said in a press release on Thursday that investment in the launch of the new quarry was UAH 10 million.
By the end of 2017, clay production by the quarry could reach 400,000 tonnes.
“The new quarry was launched in the short term over growing demand on clay from our clients. In May our Spain partners visited the enterprise in Druzhkivka. A contract to increase clay supplies was signed during the visit. We quickly attracted technical partners to launch a new quarry of the Novoraiske field, which launch initially was scheduled for 2018, in order to meet the commitments taken to the client,” Vesco CEO Yevhen Tsymarman said.
He said that in 2018, the company intends to invest over UAH 50 million in additional equipment required for development of the quarry. This would allow creating 50 new jobs in Druzhkivka.
Vesco intends to develop the 12th quarry during 20 years.