Astarta Agro Holding, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, increased its net profit by 34.5% in 2024 compared to 2023 to EUR83.25 million, according to the company’s report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
According to the report, consolidated revenue last year decreased by 1.1% to EUR612.15 million, while gross profit increased by 5.3% to EUR235.53 million and EBITDA by 9.6% to $159.35 million.
In hryvnia terms, Astarta’s revenue last year increased by 8.5% to UAH 26.531 billion, while net profit grew by 48.1% to UAH 3.634 billion.
It is noted that stable sea exports provided higher sugar sales compared to the previous year, partially offsetting the lower harvest of grains and oilseeds. Export sales of EUR395 mln accounted for 66% of consolidated revenue in 2024 compared to 53% in 2023.
The agriculture segment generated 34% of consolidated revenue or EUR209 mln in 2024 (-13% year-on-year). The main contribution was made by the sugar production segment with sales of EUR229 mln (+15% yoy), which accounted for 37% of total revenue in the reporting period. The soybean processing segment accounted for 17% of Astarta’s revenue or EUR106 million (-13% yoy). The livestock segment increased its sales by 25% yoy to EUR53 mln, accounting for 9% of total revenue in 2024.
The company attributed the increase in gross profit to a 35% or EUR 78 million increase in the fair value of biological assets and agricultural products, reflecting higher commodity prices.
Taking into account the data for the first nine months, Astarta’s financial performance in the fourth quarter of 2024 was slightly worse than in the fourth quarter of 2023.
It is also noted that operating cash flow increased in 2024 by 83% yoy to EUR167 million amid active inventory sales.
According to the report, investment cash flow increased by 30% to EUR52 million last year. The main investments were made to expand the fleet of beet harvesters, build a sugar silo and the production capacity of the soybean processing plant.
It is emphasized that Astarta’s net financial debt (excluding lease obligations) has turned into a positive cash position of EUR 21 million against EUR 39 million of debt in 2023.
As reported, in the first nine months of 2024, Astarta increased its net profit by 35.1% compared to the same period in 2023 to EUR75.60 million. The agricultural holding’s revenue increased by 12.6% to EUR441.46 million, and EBITDA by 12.8% to $131.56 million.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR618.93 million.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It includes six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
OKKO Group plans to fully launch a bioethanol plant worth EUR110 million in the third quarter of 2026, said Vasyl Danyliak, CEO of the group.
“This year we are going to fully commission the elevator and warehouse group and will be able to accept corn from our cluster. In the third quarter of 2026, we plan to fully launch the plant,” Danyliak said during the We build Ukraine conference on Thursday, which was broadcast online.
He noted that the total investment in the plant over 2024-2026 is EUR110 million, of which EUR35 million is the group’s own contribution and EUR75 million is debt financing. Of this, EUR60 million was provided by the EBRD for a period of nine years, and another EUR15 million by Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine for a period of seven years.
According to Danyliak, the annual capacity of the plant for bioethanol, the need for which is growing with the mandatory addition of 5% of this alcohol to motor gasoline from May 1, 2025, is 83 thousand tons, for livestock feed – 70 thousand tons, for corn processing – 270 thousand tons.
As reported, in June 2024, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and OKKO signed a EUR 60 million loan agreement for the construction of a new bioethanol plant in Ukraine at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin.
OKKO Group unites more than 10 diversified businesses in production, trade, construction, insurance, maintenance and other services. The flagship company of the group is Galnaftogaz, which operates one of the largest filling stations in Ukraine under the OKKO brand, with about 400 filling stations.
The group’s founder and ultimate beneficiary is Vitaliy Antonov.
Kyiv’s K41 Community Fund announced that the investor has bought the building of the former Richert brewery in the Podil district of the capital and canceled the project to build the Richert & Park residential complex on this territory.
“From now on, A Development is leaving the territory of Yurkovytsia, and this site is protected from residential development. We have found investments that allowed us to buy the building of the Richert plant and also to lease the land around the brewery with a lake for a long-term lease,” the K41 Community Fund project said on its Instagram page.
According to him, a park with a lake and public spaces are planned to be opened on this territory.
Earlier, in November 2024, A Development reported on a change in the concept of the renovation project “Richert & Park”, namely, a reduction in the building area by 40 thousand square meters and the creation of a 5.85-hectare park with a cultural center. The customer of the construction was Keramoblocks-Invest LLC.
However, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine later approved the acquisition of Keriks Development LLC by AMC Progressive Investment Strategies, which was the tenant of the land plots where the renovation project was planned.
According to Opendatabot, the owner of AMC Progressive Investment Strategies is the CEO of the Kernel agricultural holding, Andriy Verevsky. As of April 24, 2025, Verevsky is also listed as a beneficiary of Kerix Development. The previous beneficiary, Oleksiy Baranov, who owns A Development, was removed from the register on February 4.
In addition, in February, the owner of Keramobloki-Invest also changed: the current owner is Kernel-Trade LLC owned by Verevsky, and Baranov was removed from the founders of JSC ZNVKIF Laram System.
The first Central Asia-Italy summit scheduled for April 27 in Astana has been postponed at the request of the Italian side. The reason for the postponement was the participation of Italian Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni in mourning events on the occasion of the death of Pope Francis. New dates for the visit and the summit will be agreed upon and announced later.
The summit was supposed to be the first meeting in the Central Asia-Italy format with the participation of the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The following issues were expected to be discussed.
Development of a strategic partnership between Italy and the countries of Central Asia.
Strengthening economic and trade ties.
Cooperation in the field of energy and sustainable development.
Discussion of regional security and cultural and humanitarian exchange.
The summit was expected to sign agreements and joint statements aimed at expanding cooperation between Italy and the countries of the region.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni postponed her visit to Kazakhstan and participation in the summit due to the need to attend mourning events in memory of Pope Francis, who died on April 21, 2025. Italy has declared five days of national mourning.
Despite the postponement, both sides expressed interest in holding the summit in the near future. New dates for the Italian Prime Minister’s visit and the Central Asia-Italy summit are expected to be agreed upon in the coming weeks.
In April, the sociological company Active Group, together with the Experts Club information and analytical center, conducted a public opinion survey on international sympathies of Ukrainians. The survey was conducted online among 800 respondents, representative of age, gender and regions. The purpose of the study was to find out which countries enjoy the greatest trust and sympathy in Ukrainian society.
“This study confirms the general vector of public sentiment in Ukraine, which has intensified since the outbreak of a large-scale war. Ukrainians clearly associate the support received primarily from the European Union and the United Kingdom with a positive attitude towards them,” said Alexander Poznyi, co-founder of Active Group, at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.
According to the survey, Ukrainians have the most positive attitude towards the UK – 77.2% of respondents gave positive answers, Canada (76.3%) and France (74%). It is particularly significant that only 1.1% of respondents were completely negative about France. Germany currently enjoys the support of 68.8% of Ukrainians. According to Oleksandr Poznyi, the high level of trust in this country is primarily determined by long-term support for Ukrainian reforms and the defense industry, policy toward Ukrainian refugees, and other initiatives.
Ukrainians have a moderately positive attitude toward the United States of America: 36.1% of respondents assess the United States positively, while another 31.2% are neutral. On the other hand, almost a third – 29.9% – have a negative attitude toward the country. According to experts, these results indicate a deep polarization in the perception of the United States within Ukraine, which is caused by changes in American policy after the new administration came to power.
“For many Ukrainians, the United States is still a guarantor of support, but it is also a country with an ambivalent role in global conflicts, which can cause a mixed reaction in society,” said Maksym Urakin, founder of Experts Club.
Ukrainians are quite critical of Hungary (56% negative attitude) and Slovakia (34.6% negative).
“Such results are not unexpected – the official rhetoric of Budapest and Bratislava often diverges from the interests of Ukraine and is seen as pro-Russian, which cannot but be reflected in public opinion,” commented Oleksandr Poznyi.
The situation with China is no better: 42.8% of Ukrainians have a negative opinion of this country, while only 19.6% have a positive one. At the same time, 27.6% chose a neutral answer.
“It is particularly interesting that even Ukraine’s economically important partners, such as China (the largest trading partner), receive low support ratings among Ukrainians. This indicates that Ukrainian society places moral support above actual trade and does not recognize “neutrality” unless it is accompanied by humanitarian gestures,” said Maksym Urakin.
There is a high level of trust in Japan: 66% of respondents have a positive attitude, while only 3.6% have a negative attitude. Japan is perceived as a country with a high cultural reputation and technological leadership. South Korea also has a positive attitude from 49.7% of Ukrainians, although the level of negativity is slightly higher at 14%.
Turkey, despite partnership projects (particularly in the field of drones), has a rather ambiguous perception: 46.4% of respondents have a positive attitude toward it, and 12% have a negative attitude.
Ukrainians have a favorable attitude toward Brazil, with 33.3% positive versus 9.3% negative, and mostly neutral attitudes toward other Latin American countries. This, according to Oleksandr Poznyi, indicates a neutral interest rather than a clearly defined position.
Regarding Saudi Arabia, 25.2% of Ukrainians have a positive attitude, and 9.5% have a negative attitude. The rest of the respondents either have a neutral position or refrained from answering.
“These countries are trustworthy due to their efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine, including prisoner exchanges, and also act as a negotiation platform, and they are also of interest in the economic sphere,” Urakin said.
According to Mr. Poznyi, the findings of the study are an indicator of international trust and the potential for the development of bilateral relations between Ukraine and other countries.
Maksym Urakin, in turn, added that the image of states in the perception of Ukrainians can be improved by supporting projects to restore Ukraine (even without military involvement), establishing direct dialogue through embassies and public diplomacy projects, explaining their position through the historical context without avoiding publicity.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Posniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
