Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Ruukki sandwich panels were used for construction of NOVUS Logistics Center

Ruukki Energy sandwich panels were used for the construction of the NOVUS Logistics Center, the first BREEAM-certified food logistics complex in Ukraine, the Rauta press service reports.

“Especially for the logistics terminal, Rauta specialists, which is the exclusive importer of Ruukki sandwich panels in Ukraine, have developed a project of enclosing structures with unique nodes that provide maximum airtightness and significant cost savings during the operation of the facility,” said Rauta Director Andriy Ozeychuk.

As reported, in the spring of 2024, Novus Ukraine LLC, which operates the Novus hyper- and supermarket chain, launched the NOVUS Logistics Center in Kyiv, built according to the BREEAM green building principles with loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The complex was BREEAM certified at the design stage, and now, after commissioning, the company is preparing the facility to receive the international BREEAM certificate for new buildings, rating Good.

With an area of more than 50 thousand square meters and a height of 15 meters, NOVUS Logistics Center is designed for 5.2 thousand pallet spaces and has 18 temperature zones – from -30 to +24 degrees Celsius.

According to Konstantin Parshin, Head of Operational Logistics at NOVUS, thanks to the use of Ruukki sandwich panels, the temperature inside the main room does not fall below the set 15 degrees in winter and does not rise above 20 degrees in summer.

The release emphasizes that the use of Ruukki Energy sandwich panels ensured the building’s airtightness up to q50 = 0.01 m3/h∙m2 and thermal resistance of structures up to R = 7.47 (m2∙K)/W, which are the best indicators for cold storage warehouses.

Founded in 2014, Rauta Group LLC (Rauta) is an engineering and construction company engaged in the design, supply and installation of sandwich panels, ventilated facades and prefabricated buildings. It is the exclusive importer of commercial products from the Finnish concern Ruukki to Ukraine, as well as the developer of a number of innovations that reduce the cost and time of construction.

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“UPI-AGRO” completes harvesting of late crops: 86% of sunflower and 55% of soybeans have been harvested

The farms of Ukrprominvest-Agro, one of the leading sugar producers in Ukraine, are actively harvesting late crops: 55% of soybean and 48% of corn have been harvested at PJSC Food Company Podillya, and 86% of sunflower and 30% of soybean at Food Company Zorya Podillya, the company’s press service reports on its Facebook page.
“The 2024 season was dry and hot, which led to premature drying and ripening of crops. Therefore, compared to previous years, we decided to start harvesting earlier,” said Yevhen Moskalev, Director of Ukrprominvest-Agro’s Agricultural Production Department.
According to him, this strategy applies to all crops except sugar beet, which has been postponed in anticipation of productive rainfall that will help soften the dry and hard soil for high-quality harvesting with less losses and less load on the harvesters.
The agroholding noted that Podillya has fully harvested its sunflower crop. The company also harvested soybeans on 55% of the area and corn on 48% of the area. On September 17, the sugar beet digging season started.
Zorya Podillya started harvesting early soybeans, followed by sunflower. As of mid-September, 86% of the sunflower area was harvested, 30% of soybeans were harvested, and corn harvesting has begun. Also, on September 10, the company started digging sugar beet in the area of its operations.
The sowing of winter crops for the 2025 harvest began in August-September: 5.7 thousand hectares of rapeseed and 655 hectares of winter rye have already been sown for green fodder for livestock, and winter wheat sowing has begun.
As reported, in 2024, UPI-Agro allocated 72.9 thou hectares for spring crops, including 22.3 thou hectares for sugar beet, 22.7 thou hectares for soybeans, 25.2 thou hectares for corn, and 2.7 thou hectares for sunflower.
“Ukrprominvest-Agro is engaged in growing crops, producing sugar, flour, meat and dairy farming.
The group’s land bank exceeds 116.5 thousand hectares. The agricultural holding is located mainly in regions that have not been invaded by the Russian occupiers.
The total number of cattle of the agricultural holding is 6.3 thousand, pigs – 12 thousand. The total elevator storage capacity of the agricultural holding is 120 thousand tons. The group’s sugar business is represented by two sugar factories in Vinnytsia region. In 2021, the group produced 263.4 thousand tons of sugar, the third highest in Ukraine. The holding supplies grain processing products to Moldova, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Israel, Palestine, Angola, Lebanon, Syria, and Vietnam.
Ukrprominvest-Agro comprises Agroprodinvest Group LLC, PJSC Podillya Production Complex, LLC Zorya Podillya Production Complex, LLC Vinnytsia Bakery No. 2, AF Dniproagrolan, AF Ivankivtsi, LLC Mas-Agro, LLC Pravoberezhne, and LLC Progress-NT.
The owner of the agricultural holding since December 2019 is the son of the former President of Ukraine Oleksiy Poroshenko.

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Number of corporate bankruptcies in U.S. in January-August 2024 is at 4-year high

The number of corporate bankruptcies in the U.S. in January-August 2024 reached a four-year high for the period and was the second highest since 2010, according to calculations by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The country recorded 452 bankruptcies in the first eight months of this year, up from 466 in the same period in 2020 and 604 in January-August 2010.

Sixty-three companies declared insolvency in August compared to 49 in July. A higher number of bankruptcies were only seen in June and April, 72 and 68 respectively.

The three companies that filed for bankruptcy court last month have debts above $1 billion are solar energy technology provider SunPower Corp. whose stock trades on the open market, as well as perfume and cosmetics seller Avon International Operations Inc. and gas station and convenience store operator SQRL Service Stations LLC.

“U.S. companies continue to face a number of challenges this year, including high interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty,” S&P said in the report.

In 2023, 634 companies declared insolvency in the U.S. (up from 441 in January-August). In 2020, there was a peak of bankruptcies (638 companies) after the previous peak in 2010, when 827 companies collapsed.
The Experts Club think tank recently released a video on the history of defaults and a table of countries at risk of default in the medium term. For more details, see the video on Experts Club’s YouTube channel:

Dynamics of export of goods in jan-june 2024 by most important items in relation to same period of 2023, %

Dynamics of export of goods in jan-june 2024 by the most important items in relation to the same period of 2023, %

Open4Business.com.ua

Number of bankrupt companies in EU increased by 3.1% in second quarter of 2024

The number of bankrupt companies in the European Union in the second quarter of 2024 increased by 3.1% compared to the previous three months, according to the EU Statistics Office. The increase in the number of insolvent companies was recorded in construction (+3.8%), financial sector (+2.6%), trade (+2.4%) and industry (+1.6%).

At the same time, their number decreased in education and social activities (-1%), in the hotel and catering sector (-1.1%), in transportation (-1.6%), and in information and communications (-4.8%).

At the same time, the number of business registrations in the European Union fell by 2.1% compared to the first quarter, with declines in all sectors of the economy.

The largest declines were recorded in trade (-4.7%), industry (-3.6%), and education and social activities (-3.4%), with the smallest decline in finance (-0.7%).
Recently, the Experts Club information and analytical center released a video about the history of defaults and a table of countries that may face the risk of default in the medium term. For more details, see the video on Experts Club’s YouTube channel:

Germany to allocate another 400 mln euros to purchase weapons for Ukraine

The German government intends to allocate 400 million euros for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine, Stern magazine reported on Thursday.
“The federal government wants to allocate an additional 400 million euros for military support to Ukraine as soon as possible. This follows from a letter from the Ministry of Finance to the Bundestag Budget Committee, which was obtained by the State Tax Administration,” the publication informs.
The money is to be used to purchase air defense systems, drones and protective equipment for the Ukrainian military.
At the same time, according to Stern, State Secretary of the German Ministry of Finance Florian Tonkar warned that “without a significant increase in material support, Ukraine will be defeated.”
The magazine reminds that the German government plans to allocate 1.42 billion euros for military support to Ukraine by the end of 2024. This is 397 million euros more than budgeted, so the Bundestag’s consent is required for additional spending.

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