The volume of domestic cement consumption in Ukraine by late 2021 may reach 10 million tonnes for the first time since 2014, Head of the Ukrcement association Pavlo Kachur has said.
“We have production data for nine months, and we can predict with slight optimism that this year, for the first time since 2014, we will move to more than 10 million tonnes of cement consumed in the domestic market. If there are no emergencies, we will reach 10.5 million tonnes,” Kachur said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Ukrcement, in January-September 2021, cement production increased by 15.2% compared to the same period last year. At the same time, over the past four years, the volume of the cement market amounted to 9 million tonnes per year.
“Our market capacity is small. For the last four years, it is up to 9 million tonnes per year. In Poland, comparable in terms of population, which is much smaller geographically, the volume of consumption in 2020 amounted to 18.9 million tonnes – twice as much. Therefore, we have room to grow. Our factories operate at two-thirds of their actual capacity,” Kachur said.
According to him, the increase in cement consumption is associated with a positive period in the construction market, including active road construction.
The volume of limestone imports to Ukraine in January-September 2021 increased by 21% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 107,000 tonnes, according to a study by the Ukrainian Lime Industry Association.
“After minimum supplies in 2014, there was a moderate increase in imports of limestone over the next years. 2020 was marked by a significant acceleration in the growth trend: in 12 months, imports of limestone amounted to 123,000 tonnes, which is 45% more than the previous year. 2021 continued the trend: in January-September, 107,000 tonnes were imported, which is 21% more than the last year’s level,” the association said.
According to it, for the first nine months of this year in the structure of imports, 59% of the supply of limestone falls on Russia, followed by Belarus (17%), Slovakia (12%), Poland (4%) and Moldova (4%). Over the period, the largest importer was the Russian company FELS (32%).
As indicated in the study, manufacturers of construction materials remain the main consumer of imported limestone starting from 2020 (43%), the second place is taken by the chemical industry (22%), and the third is the metallurgical industry (18%).
In terms of consumption among Ukrainian companies, the leaders are Entere Group (32% of all imports), Sumykhimprom (21%), small private enterprise Ideya (10%), and Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (8%).
The Ukrainian Lime Industry Association was established in December 2011. The initiators of the association were representatives of Ukrainian enterprises engaged in limestone mining and lime production, and providing services in the field of study and use of natural resources.
PrJSC Insurance company Alfa Insurance (Kyiv) in January-September of this year collected UAH 1.073 billion of gross premiums, which is 35.99% more than in the same period in 2020, Standard-Rating reported in the information on the confirmation of the company’s financial strength rating at the “uaAA+” level on the national scale based on the results of work for the nine months of 2021.
According to the press release, receipts from individuals for the reporting period increased by 47.40%, to UAH 727.6 million, and from reinsurers, on the contrary, decreased by 33.81%, to UAH 6.441 million. Thus, individuals continue to prevail in the insurer’s client portfolio, as evidenced by their share in gross premiums of 67.81%.
Insurance premiums sent to reinsurers for the nine months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 increased by 26.69%, to UAH 15.163 million. As a result of high growth rates of gross premiums over the growth rates of premiums sent to reinsurers, the coefficient of participation of reinsurers in insurance premiums decreased by 0.07 percentage points, to 1.41%.
According to the results of the first three quarters of 2021, the company’s net premiums increased by 36.09%, to UAH 1.058 billion, and earned premiums – by 38.03%, to UAH 1 billion.
For the nine months of 2021, Alfa Insurance paid out UAH 292.601 million of insurance indemnities to its customers, which is 37.26% more than the volume of payments for the same period in 2020. As a result, the level of payments increased by 0.25 percentage points, to 27.27%.
According to the results of operations for the first three quarters of 2021, the financial result from operating activities amounted to UAH 36.749 million, and net profit amounted to UAH 30.933 million.
The company’s assets as of September 30, 2021 increased by 12.86%, to UAH 855.994 million, equity capital increased by 10.12%, to UAH 336.552 million, liabilities increased by 14.72%, to UAH 519.442 million, cash and cash equivalents decreased by 6.29%, to UAH 402.293 million.
Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air plans to hire more than 140 flight attendants in Ukraine over the next six months to operate at its bases in Lviv and Kyiv.
According to the company’s press service on Thursday, from November 5 to December 20, as part of the selection process for flight attendants, Wizz Air plans to organize Open Days in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Dnipro and Mykolaiv.
Earlier, Wizz Air signed an agreement of intent to cooperate with the National Aviation University of Ukraine in order to provide students with the opportunity to start a professional career after graduation.
As reported, Wizz Air plans to deploy seven more aircraft in Ukraine, increasing their total number to 11. Five new aircraft will be deployed in Kyiv (in addition to the three already based in the Ukrainian capital), two more aircraft will be supplied to a base in Lviv (in addition to one aircraft).
Wizz Air also announced the launch in 2021-2022 of twelve new destinations from Kyiv, nine from Lviv, three from Odesa and two from Kharkiv.
The ambassadors of the European Union have excluded Ukraine from the list of countries for which it is recommended to lift the restrictive measures imposed on unnecessary travel to the EU due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This decision was made on Friday in Brussels, diplomatic sources reported to Interfax-Ukraine.
The official decision will be announced next week. It was adopted in connection with the increase in the incidence of coronavirus in Ukraine. The country was included in the list, which is reviewed every two weeks, on 15 July.
As previously reported, on 30 June 2020, the Council adopted a recommendation to gradually remove temporary restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU. This recommendation included an initial list of countries for which Member States can remove travel restrictions at external borders.
On May 20, the Council adopted a recommendation to amend in response to ongoing vaccination campaigns by introducing certain exemptions for vaccinated persons and relaxing the criteria for lifting restrictions for third countries. At the same time, the amendments take into account the possible risks associated with new options, establishing an emergency braking mechanism that allows to quickly respond to the emergence of a new option or deterioration of the situation in a third country.
The Council’s recommendation is not a legally binding document. The authorities of the member countries remain responsible for their implementation.
The Australian-based European Lithium (Perth), whose shares are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, agreed to acquire Ukraine’s Petro-Consulting LLC (Kyiv), which is fighting for special permits for the production of two lithium deposits in Ukraine: Shevchenkivsky and the Dobry site.
“The condition for the acquisition is the issuance of appropriate special permits for the extraction and production of lithium to Petro-Consulting (in court, through public auctions or production sharing agreements), approval of the shareholders of European Lithium (as a result of which Millstone may acquire more than 20% of European Lithium) and some other conditions, with a final date of completion of 12 months from the date of signing,” the Australian company said.
According to the report, the total purchase price is AUD20 million in shares plus another AUD50 million in shares if certain conditions are met.
Following the completion of the acquisition of European Lithium, the main project of which today is the Wolfsberg lithium project in Carinthia, Austria, Lithium Project intends to conduct the first JORC mineral resource assessment based on verification work (double drilling).
“Considering the mutual synergy due to the merger of Ukrainian projects with the advanced lithium project Wolfsberg, Millstone (the owner of Petro-Consulting) is confident in issuing special permits to Petro-Consulting and financing further exploration work and feasibility studies of Ukrainian-based projects, Millstone agreed to invest AUD20 million in European Lithium, of which AUD2.5 million immediately, AUD2.5 million subject to shareholder approval (to be requested at the forthcoming AGM) and AUD15 million subject to completion of the Petro-Consulting acquisition,” the statement said.
It states that Millstone’s representative Mykhailo Zhernov will be appointed to the board of directors of European Lithium upon completion of the first tranche of the placement.
Petro-Consulting was registered in Darnytsky district of Kyiv in April 2010. The charter capital is UAH 340,210. The ultimate beneficiary of the company is resident of Donetsk Mykhailo Zhernov, the head of the company since September 2019 is Ihor Lukyanov.
