Cypriot citizen Vadym Iermolaiev, owner of the 18-enterprise Alef diversified corporation, whose assets were estimated by Forbes Ukraine at $220 million before the war, has been added to the Ukrainian sanctions list.
Presidential Decree No. 850 of December 23, among other things, blocks its assets for 10 years, revokes or suspends licenses and other permits, prohibits participation in privatization and the purchase of land, and suspends the fulfillment of economic and financial obligations.
Alef-Vinal-Crimea LLC is also on the list of legal entities subject to sanctions.
According to the website, the main assets of the Alef Corporation include UDK Gazbeton, manufacturers of PVC profile Miroplast and window and door fittings Axor Industry, apple exporter Sady Dnipra and Agroalliance, ALEF Estate, SEZ Potoky, medical device manufacturer ABM Technology, pipe manufacturer Oscar, and concrete producer Elba.
The corporation and Mr. Yermolaiev have not yet publicly commented on the sanctions.
Another decree No. 851 of the same day imposed sanctions, in particular, against Leonid (Len) Blavatnik, a British citizen, ex-partner of Russian businessmen Viktor Vekselberg and Oleg Deripaska, founder and chairman of the board of directors of Acces Industries, a holding company and investment firm that estimates its diversified portfolio of investments worldwide at more than $35 billion. In particular, it is the majority owner of Warner Music Group. Other assets include DAZN Group and LyondelBassel.
The list also includes Ukrainian citizen Vyacheslav Yutkin, who until 2016 was the first deputy chairman of Prominvestbank, a Ukrainian subsidiary of the Russian VEB that invested in Ukrainian real estate.
As of May 2018, he was the owner of the Hlibivka country house hotel near Kyiv, the Yaremche Club boutique hotel (Yaremche, Ivano-Frankivsk region), the Pushcha Congress Hotel (Pushcha-Vodytsia, Kyiv region), and the five-star boutique hotel Bank Hotel Congress Hall Art Butik (Lviv).
In January-November 2023, Guardian Insurance Company (Kyiv) collected insurance premiums in the amount of UAH 1.2 billion, which is 47.67% more than in the same period of 2022.
According to the insurer’s website, for 11 months of this year, the company paid UAH 344.55 million to customers, which is 2.4 times more than in the same period last year.
Guardian has been operating in the insurance market since 2007. It is a member of the Presidium of the League of Insurance Organizations of Ukraine. In January 2020, it received the status of a full member of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTIBU) and is authorized to sell Green Card policies.
In October 2020, by the decision of the general meeting of members of the Nuclear Insurance Pool of Ukraine, Guardian Insurance Company became a member of the Nuclear Insurance Pool.
Kernel, one of Ukraine’s largest agricultural holdings, posted a net loss of $30.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 (FY, July 2023-June 2024), while the company ended the previous year with a net loss of $162 million.
“The net loss … amounted to $31 million, which was the second quarter in a row in which the company reported a negative net result (the net loss of the fourth quarter of FY2023 was $138 million – IF-U),” the company said in a report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Kernel’s consolidated revenues in the first quarter of 2024FY decreased by 17% compared to the first quarter and by 26% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023FY, amounting to $564 million.
“The main factors that contributed to this decline were a decrease in grain exports and the impact of lower prices for all commodities,” the document explains.
It is indicated that the change in the fair value of biological assets resulted in a $10 million loss in the first quarter of 2024 compared to a $2 million loss in the first quarter of 2023, lower prices led to a $23 million write-down of inventories, and net losses from impairment of financial assets amounted to $20 million, mainly reflecting provisions recognized for receivables.
In addition, it is specified that shipping and handling costs accounted for 22% of cost of sales in the first quarter of FY2024, and as a result of all of the above, gross profit in the first quarter of FY2024 fell by 70% year-on-year to $52 million, but this is better than the loss of $22 million in the fourth quarter of FY2023.
According to the report, general and administrative expenses in the first quarter of FY2024 fell by 29% year-on-year to $31 million, mainly due to lower wages and salary-related expenses.
Kernel’s EBITDA in July-September 2023 fell almost ninefold compared to July-September 2022, from $168 million to $19 million.
“The Oilseeds Processing segment remained the driver of the group’s profitability, contributing $58 million to Kernel’s profit. EBITDA increased by 15% compared to the fourth quarter of FY2023. These results reflect strong sales during the reporting period and a consistently high EBITDA margin of $158 per tonne of vegetable oil sold,” the report says.
“Kernel explained that it benefited from established export routes outside of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, which allowed it to maintain high export volumes despite the blockade of the Black Sea. In addition, the weak profitability of sunflower processing, which prevailed in the summer of 2023, improved significantly in September with the arrival of a new sunflower crop on the market.
It is indicated that in the conditions of inaccessibility of the Black Sea for the group’s exports, the EBITDA of the Infrastructure and Trade segment amounted to only $6 million: Avere’s profitable trading operations slightly covered the loss of infrastructure and logistics assets in Ukraine.
The Agriculture segment generated a $23 million EBITDA loss in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.
According to the report, net cash used in investing activities amounted to $68 million in July-September 2023. It is specified that within the framework of investment activities, the group used $47 million to purchase property, plant and equipment (including the acquisition of a vegetable oil transshipment terminal in the port of Chernomorsk for $19 million), made an advance payment of $25 million for the acquisition of a vegetable oil transshipment terminal in the port of Reni, received $91 million from the sale of subsidiaries (mainly due to the final payment of remuneration for the removal of the director of Kernel), received $91 million.
Prior to the war, Kernel was the world’s largest producer of sunflower oil (about 7% of global production) and a major exporter (about 12%). It is one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. In addition, it is engaged in the cultivation and sale of agricultural products.
Kernel’s net profit for FY2023 amounted to $299 million, while the company ended the previous year with a net loss of $41 million. The agricultural holding’s revenue for FY2023 decreased by 35% to $3.455 billion, but EBITDA increased 2.5 times to $544 million.
On December 29, Ukrzaliznytsia JSC (UZ) will launch an additional run of train No. 816 Lviv-Rakhiv, the UZ press service said on Friday evening.
“We are strengthening the peak transportation day on December 29 with the flight of the regional train No. 816 Lviv – Rakhiv! The train will be useful not only for residents of Lviv, but with a transfer at Lviv station – for passengers from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia and other cities,” the message posted on UZ’s Telegram channel reads.
The company specifies that train No. 816 will depart from Lviv on December 29 at 15:22, Ivano-Frankivsk at 17:39 – 17:43, Yaremche at 19:10 – 19:14, Tatariv-Bukovel at 19:39 – 19:41, Vorokhta at 19:52 – 19:56, Yasinia at 20:34 – 20:36, Kvasy at 20:59 – 21:01, arriving in Rakhiv at 21:19. The train will also stop at the stations Khodoriv, Burshtyn, Halych, Delyatyn, Mykulychyn, Voronenko, Lazeshchyna, Svydovets, and Bilyn.
It is also reported that in Lviv, this train can be transferred from trains #79 Dnipro (22:06) – Kyiv (05:42 – 06:10) – Lviv (12:59), #86 Zaporizhzhia (18:48) – Lviv (14:15) and #63 Kharkiv (22:38) – Kyiv (05:35 – 06:35) – Lviv (13:39).
On Sunday morning, Polish farmers ended their protest in front of the Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint, and truck traffic has resumed, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) reports.
“According to the Border Guard of the Republic of Poland, today at 09:30 the protest in front of the Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint ended. Registration and crossing of trucks entering Ukraine is carried out as usual. Border guards, together with employees of the control services, are working to ensure the passage of the maximum number of trucks,” the message posted on the telegram channel reads.
On December 23, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Poland Michal Kolodziejczak said that Polish farmers had suspended protests at the Shehyni-Medica checkpoint with Ukraine.
Medyka-Shehyni, Polish farmers, SBGS, State Border Guard Service
An earthquake with magnitude 4.0 (on the Richter scale) was registered on Sunday at 08.06 Kiev time in the area of Vrancea Mountains (Romania), it could be felt in Ukraine, but does not pose a threat to the population, the Main Center for Special Control reports.
“The source of the earthquake is located on the territory of Romania, in the area of Vrancea mountains, 110 km from the border with Ukraine, at a depth of 103 km. The earthquake does not carry a threat to the population of Ukraine. Fluctuations can be felt only by individuals who are quiet indoors, especially on the upper floors,” – said in a message published on the website.
The Main Control Center reminds that the last powerful earthquake from the area of Vrancea mountains was registered on December 04 this year with a magnitude of 4.6 (on the Richter scale).
