Based on its performance in January-March of this year, Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Plant (KZRK) saw its net loss increase 4.4-fold compared to the same period last year—to UAH 378.948 million from UAH 85.925 million.
According to KZRK’s interim report, available to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine,” revenue from ordinary activities for this period fell to UAH 135.457 million from UAH 705.526 million.
Retained earnings as of the end of March 2026 amounted to UAH 144.526 million.
In Q1 2026, KZRK reduced iron ore production (sintering and blast furnace) by 4.7 times—to 50,000 tons from 236,000 tons in the first quarter of 2025. Exports accounted for 88.8% of total sales (89.11%).
Approved production capacity for iron ore mining as of the first quarter of 2026 is 269,000 tons (483,000 tons in Q1 2025 tons), while actual raw ore production amounted to 68.2 thousand tons (294.3 thousand tons). Capacity utilization in the first quarter of 2026 was 25.3% (60% in the first quarter of 2025).
Major customers (accounting for more than 5% of total revenue) in the first quarter of 2026 were U. S. Steel Košice, s.r.o., Lentimex spol.s.r.o., KIZARA GROUP LTD, and METINVEST HOLDING LLC. KZRK’s products are sold on domestic and foreign markets (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Serbia, and Austria).
For 2026, the company plans to produce 3 million tons of commercial products with an average iron content of 56.86%.
In the first quarter of 2026, the company did not attract external investments or credit funds; business operations were financed using its own funds. The company’s capital expenditures for the first quarter of 2026 amounted to UAH 25.422 million (compared to UAH 48.343 million in the first quarter of 2025).
According to the interim report for the fourth quarter of 2025, due to the inability to maintain wages at the level of comparable enterprises—a situation compounded since 2025 by the inability to pay wages on time and in full—1,375 employees left the company in 2025. The current number of production-category employees is insufficient to maintain core production processes. To halt the exodus of personnel, the company must fully fund the repayment of wage arrears, ensure their timely payment, and provide a competitive salary
The report for Q1 2026 notes that despite the difficult situation with the sale of finished products due to the ongoing aggression by the Russian Federation, work is currently continuing at the plant’s mines on the construction of the following levels: “Ternivska” level – 1,500 m, “Kozatska” – 1,500 m level, ‘Pokrovska’ mine – 1,415 m level, “Kryvorizka” mine – 1,465 m level.
As reported, KZRK increased its net loss by 3.2 times in the first nine months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024—to 1.487217 billion UAH, while net revenue for this period decreased by 41.6%—to 1.601822 billion UAH.
The annual report for 2025 has not yet been published.
KZRK ended 2024 with a net loss of 2.14015 billion UAH, while in 2023 it amounted to 63.411 million UAH. Net revenue in 2024 amounted to UAH 3.443 billion, compared to UAH 5.578 billion in 2023.
In 2024, the plant produced 1.693 million tons of raw ore; the volume of marketable ore was 1.370 million tons. The plan for 2025 is 4.385 million tons of raw ore and 3.6 million tons of marketable ore.
As reported, on May 23, 2025, TViy Energosupply LLC (Kyiv) filed a petition with the Commercial Court of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against KZRK due to unpaid bills for electricity consumption. The Commercial Court of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ruled to open bankruptcy proceedings against KZRK on June 9 of this year.
KZRK specializes in underground iron ore mining. It comprises four mines: “Pokrovska” (formerly “Zhovtneva”), the “Kryvyi Rih” mine (“Batkivshchyna”), “Kozatska” (formerly ‘Hvardiyiska’), and “Ternivska” (formerly the Ordzhonikidze Ore Administration, later named after Lenin).
According to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) data for the fourth quarter of 2025, the main shareholder of KZRK is Starmill Limited (Cyprus), which owns 99.8812% of its shares. Operational control of the plant was exercised by the Privat Group prior to the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings.
In May 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions against dozens of foreign companies linked to Russian individuals that own significant assets in Ukraine, including KZRK. Some of these assets had already been seized, but the sanctions paved the way for their confiscation. The corresponding Presidential Decree No. 279 of May 12 was published on the President’s website. In particular, the list of legal entities includes Starmill Limited, which owns 99.89% of KZRK under the operational control of the Privat Group.
The company’s authorized capital is 1 billion 991.233 million UAH.
