Astarta Agro Holding, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, reduced its net profit by 13.9% in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023 to EUR47.11 million, according to the company’s report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
According to the report, consolidated revenue increased by 11.6% to EUR320.71 million, while gross profit grew by 0.5% to $126.63 million and EBITDA decreased by 11.7% to $85.83 million.
“The EBITDA margin was 27%, down 7 p.p. (percentage points) year-on-year due to falling prices and higher SG&A expenses,” the report states.
Taking into account the data for the first quarter, Astarta managed to improve its performance in the second quarter. As reported, in the first quarter of 2024, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 44.1% to EUR9.02 million, EBITDA by 24.5% to $28.62 million, and its consolidated revenue increased by 1.4% to EUR165.78 million.
It is noted that the main growth factor in the first half of the year was sugar production, which accounted for 40% of total revenue, or EUR128 million (+48% compared to last year), followed by crop production with 31%, or EUR99 million (-2% compared to last year). Soybean processing accounted for 18% of Astarta’s consolidated revenue, or EUR58 million (-18% y-o-y), while livestock production accounted for 8%, or EUR25 million (+20% y-o-y).
It is indicated that export sales increased to 67% of consolidated revenue or EUR215 million in the first half of this year against 55% in the first half of last year.
The main contribution to EBITDA was made by crop production – EUR44.26 million against EUR43.68 million in the first half of last year, while the sugar segment’s EBITDA fell to EUR12.20 million from EUR24.10 million a year earlier.
In livestock, EBITDA increased to EUR 14.55 million from EUR 9.48 million in the first quarter of last year, while in soybean processing it decreased to EUR 16.45 million from EUR 20.11 million.
It is noted that the operating cash flow increased by 67.7% to EUR116.4 mln in six months due to lower inventories.
Investments increased 2.1 times to EUR20.19 million, mainly in crop and sugar production.
Over the year, Astarta’s net debt decreased from EUR131.55 million to EUR95.86 million, and free cash flow increased from EUR20.96 million to EUR72.84 million.
It is noted that the abnormally hot weather without rain forced the agricultural holding to accelerate the harvesting of winter crops. Less favorable weather conditions also led to lower yields in 2024, however, in the western regions of the country there was more precipitation, winter crops yields were higher, and overall yields were higher than the average for Ukraine.
The gross harvest of winter wheat amounted to 5.3 t/ha (-16% y-o-y), which means a harvest of 260 thsd tonnes (-4% y-o-y). Rapeseed yields averaged 3.4 t/ha (-17% y/y), with a harvest of 40 thou tons (-29% y/y). Harvesting of late crops for 2024 is ongoing. Sowing of winter rapeseed for the 2025 harvest started in mid-August. The planned sowing area is 20 thou hectares compared to 12 thou hectares last year.
“Astarta reminded that this year’s corn acreage decreased three times compared to last year, to 6 thou hectares, and sunflower acreage decreased by 34%, to 18 thou hectares. At the same time, the area under soybeans increased by 27% to 70 thou hectares to maximize the supply of its own products for soybean processing, Astarta said.
The company added that the area under sugar beet remained virtually unchanged and amounted to 38 thou hectares (-1% y-o-y), while the area under organic crops remained at the same level – about 2 thou hectares.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It comprises 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.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 million.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih’s Kryvyi Rih Mining and Metallurgical Plant (AMKR) saved more than UAH 200 million in the period from May 2020 to July 2024 as part of a program to modernize lighting systems.
According to the company’s information in the corporate publication Metallurg, the program is still being implemented.
It was specified that the program has significantly improved lighting in the main premises of ten shops.
According to Alexander Efremov, Head of Energy Management Department, the company spends the most money on natural gas and electricity, the prices for which have risen sharply, out of all the energy resources purchased. He also noted that electricity is used not only to run production equipment but also to illuminate shop buildings and other premises. Thousands of different lighting fixtures with different types of lamps are used to illuminate numerous buildings and structures. Among them are outdated, inefficient and uneconomical incandescent lamps, sodium lamps and others.
“Modern achievements in this area have proven that LED lighting fixtures are many times more powerful and economical: A 10-watt economy lamp gives as much light as a 100-watt incandescent lamp. In addition, in many workshop buildings and structures, the lighting level ranges from 30 to 70 lux, while the standards require at least 200. So the need for changes is urgent,” explained Yefremov.
According to him, the modernization requires significant funds, so the experts decided to use energy service contracts, where the contracted energy company replaces the lighting system at its own expense and then receives money from energy savings together with the enterprise.
“The quality of the services and equipment provided by Ukrainian energy companies was very high. The pilot project of the program started at the end of 2020 in Rolling Shop No. 3. The modernization was completed in May 2021. We took measurements and received at least 200 lux, and the first months of using the new lighting showed the reliability and savings we expected. The next participants in the program were the first ore dressing and crushing plants of the Mining Department. We have achieved considerable savings,” stated the head of the department.
The program continued after the full-scale invasion. The main buildings of a number of shops, as well as ROF-2, SPC-1, BOF Shop, Blooming Shop and other shops, received new powerful, economical lighting. Some units modernized systems at additional facilities. The implementation is ongoing at Sinter Shop 2. Several other shops are next in line.
“We sign a long-term contract with the contractor, and together we measure and record the current level of lighting and electricity consumption. Then our partners completely change the equipment – switches, electrical wires, lamps and fixtures. Then, on a monthly basis, we record energy consumption and calculate the savings compared to pre-modernization costs. During these contract years, the contractor maintains and repairs the equipment,” explained Yefremov.
“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest rolled steel producer in Ukraine. It specializes in long products, including rebar and wire rod.
ArcelorMittal owns the largest mining and metallurgical plant in Ukraine, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, including ArcelorMittal Berislav.
PJSC Ukrnafta will raise UAH 4 billion in loans from Ukrgasbank to drill new wells and build and commission gas piston units, the company’s press service said on Friday.
“The borrowed funds will be used to finance drilling and production stimulation programs and the construction of modern gas piston stations,” said Sergiy Koretsky, Ukrnafta’s director.
As reported, Ukrnafta has announced 16 tenders for the purchase of gas reciprocating power plants with a total capacity of 63.59 MW-76.4 MW. These are plants with a capacity of 1-1.3 MW (two sets), 1.6-2.1 MW (one), 1.95-2.5 MW (two), 2.4-3.1 MW (three), 2.94-3.7 MW (one), 3.9-4.5 MW (three), 4.4-5.2 MW (one), 5.85-6.8 MW (one), 12-14.1 MW (two). The start of the auctions has been extended by two weeks to September 9-10, 2024.
“In 2023, Ukrnafta increased oil and condensate production by 3% (by 39.9 thousand tons) compared to 2022, to 1.4 million tons. Last year, Ukrnafta produced 1.097 bcm of natural and associated petroleum gas, which is 5.8% (60.4 mcm) more than in 2022.
“Ukrnafta is the largest oil producer in Ukraine and the operator of the national network of filling stations. In March 2024, the company took over management of Glusco’s assets and operates 545 filling stations – 460 owned and 85 managed.
The company is implementing a comprehensive program to restore operations and update the format of its filling stations. Since February 2023, Ukrnafta has been issuing its own fuel coupons and NAFTA cards, which are sold to legal entities and individuals through Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
Ukrnafta’s largest shareholder is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a 50%+1 share. In November 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Office of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer to the state a share of corporate rights of the company, which belonged to private owners and is currently managed by the Ministry of Defense.
Croatia will host 100 children of wounded and killed Ukrainian soldiers for rehabilitation in the fall.
According to the Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Split (Croatia) Ivica Pirić, Croatia has been organizing recreation for Ukrainian children by the sea since 2015 with the organizational support of the Embassy of Ukraine in Croatia and the Prime Minister of Croatia. Over the 9 years of the program, which is funded by the Ivica Pirić Foundation, 3.5 thousand Ukrainian children and 400 combatants have visited the seaside city of Split in Croatia.
“In 1991-1995, Croatia went through a war in which more than 20 thousand people died and thousands of soldiers became disabled. Much of Croatia’s territory was mined, and cities and towns were heavily damaged. Many IDPs had to go through a difficult period of reintegration. Croatia has extensive experience in treating and rehabilitating military personnel and treating post-traumatic stress disorders in children. The current generation of Croats, including government officials, are children of war, and they are very close to the problems that Ukraine is facing today, so we want to help. The least we can do is to give a holiday by the sea to the children of Ukrainian heroes who are defending Ukraine’s independence,” Pirić said.
In October 2023, Ukraine and Croatia signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of demining, which provides for training of specialists, surveying of territories, their demining and clearing, and exchange of experience in the production of demining equipment. According to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, Croatian demining machines are operating in Ukraine, and in mid-2023, Ukrainian and Croatian manufacturers agreed to localize the production of such machines in Ukraine.
Pirić is a Croatian footballer who has been working as a FIFA agent since his retirement. Since 2016, he has been the Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Croatia. Pirić helps wounded Ukrainian soldiers and children affected by military operations.
Benchmark oil prices are rising in the morning on the last working day of summer.
The cost of October futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 8:08 a.m. on Friday is $80.18 per barrel, which is $0.24 (0.3%) higher than at the close of the previous trading. The day before, these contracts rose in price by $1.29 (1.6%) to $79.94 per barrel.
October futures for Brent will expire at the end of the session on Friday. November contracts, which are more actively traded, are rising in price during trading by $0.22 (0.28%) to $79.04 per barrel.
October futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) increased in price by $0.18 (0.24%) to $76.09 per barrel. On Thursday, the contract rose by $1.39 (1.9%) to $75.91 per barrel.
The quotes are supported by tensions in the Middle East. In particular, Israeli Air Force fighters struck several Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon that threatened Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) press service said in a telegram channel.
Another positive factor for the oil market was the statistical data released the day before, which confirmed the stability of the US economy. The estimate of the country’s GDP growth in the second quarter was revised upward to 3% in terms of annualized rates from the previously announced 2.8%.
TAS Dneprovagonmash LLC (DVM, Kamianske, Dnipro region), controlled by businessman Sergiy Tigipko’s TAS Financial and Industrial Group, posted a consolidated net profit of UAH 40.37 million in January-June, down almost 2.4 times compared to the same period in 2023.
According to the company’s interim report, published on Thursday in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), its consolidated net income increased by 35% to UAH 1.01 billion.
The report notes that the consolidated financial statements include the performance indicators of the car-building company TAS Dneprovagonmash LLC and its subsidiary, the casting manufacturer TAS Steel Plant LLC.
As reported, in the first half of the year, TAS Dneprovagonmash’s unconsolidated net profit amounted to UAH 18.85 million, three times less than a year earlier, while unconsolidated revenue grew by 37.8% to UAH 796.47 million.
According to the report, the company’s consolidated net income includes revenue from railcar sales of UAH 773.87 million (56% more than in January-June 2023), revenue from sales of castings and shot of UAH 213.7 million (25.7% more), revenue from sales of spare parts of UAH 21.2 million (35% more) and services rendered (almost UAH 1 million), including railcar repairs.
As reported, in early 2023, TAS Group became a strategic investor in the TransAnt GmbH railcar building joint venture of Austrian Voestalpine and ÖBB Rail Cargo with a 40% stake, and in the spring of 2024 it became the majority owner of TransAnt, increasing its stake to 61%.
According to the company, in the second quarter of 2024, it shipped platform cars for the EU market as part of the project.
This year, the company plans to invest UAH 100.2 million in the development of the European direction (for the purchase of equipment).
In early August 2024, the company announced on its website the acceptance of 1.5 thousand different railcars by an international company without disclosing details, and on August 20, it announced a contract with the logistics company Balk Trans for the supply of 100 grain cars.
As reported, in 2023, TAS Dneprovagonmash produced 378 freight cars (including for the EU market), which is 34.8% less than in 2022, while sales decreased by 40.6% to 370 units. Non-consolidated revenue decreased by 2.8% to UAH 1 billion 77 million, while net profit increased slightly to UAH 49.2 million.
TAS Group was founded in 1998 by businessman Sergey Tigipko. Its business interests include the financial sector (banking and insurance) and pharmacy, as well as industry, real estate, and venture capital projects.
