Revenue of Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands, the parent company of the Metinvest group of steel and mining companies, grew by 13.6% in May 2020 compared with the previous month, to $843 million from $742 million.According to unaudited operational results posted by the company on Tuesday, EBITDA in May was $162 million, which is $36 million more than in April ($126 million), EBITDA from participation in JV was $16 million ($15 million in April).
According to the report, adjusted EBITDA of the metal division of the group in May 2020 totaled $39 million ($64 million in April), including minus $6 million from participation in JV (minus $1 million), EBITDA of the mining division was $112 million ($94), including from participation in JV $22 million ($16 million). Expenses of the managing company were $7 million ($6 million).
Total revenue consisted from revenue of the metal division in the amount of $631 million ($580 million in April), revenue of the mining division totaling $291 million ($240 million) and intra-group sales totaled $79 million ($78 million).
Total debt grew by $25 million in May, to $3.098 billion. At the same time, the amount of cash decreased by $10 million, to $260 million from $270 million.
The funds used in investing activities amounted to $95 million, in financial activities $27 million.
PJSC Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (DMZ, former Evraz-DMZ), a member of DCH Steel Group, owned by Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, following the launch of blast furnace and rolling shops No. 1 and No. 2 in June of the current year after maintenance works since October 2019, continues to restore and increase the production.
The company told Interfax-Ukraine that the company produced 17,000 tonnes of rolled steel in July, smelted 22,000 tonnes of steel, 20,000 tonnes of cast iron, while in June there were produced 10,000 tonnes of rolled steel, 13,000 tonnes of steel, and 18,000 tonnes of cast iron.
Previously, the company said that the enterprise is reaching the set technical parameters for the implementation of production plans.
The enterprise said in the press-release that representatives of TÜV SÜD company have carried out recertification audits of the quality management system, environmental management system at the DMZ as well as a thorough inspection of hot-rolled steel production control system for the compliance with international standards.
The auditors interacted with the leaders of subdivisions and employees, visited the workshops, the technical control department, and the central plant lab, requested the necessary documentation for each of the directions.
“The plans have been fully implemented within three days. During the final meeting with the working group, the auditors have confirmed that all systems at the enterprise operate according to the standards. They [auditors] will advise issuing DMZ certificates of conformity to the TÜV SÜD standards. Availability of certificates entitles DMZ to ship its products to foreign customers,” reports the press release.
It was informed at the end of May of the current year that DMZ is ready to launch the blast furnace and rolling mills.
DCH’s investment programme for the development of the DCH Steel mining and metals division (DMZ and Sukha Balka Mine) envisages investments of $300 million over the next five years.
The implementation of investment projects was supported by DMZ specialists who carried out necessary maintenance works and launched the plant.
The plant focuses on the processing of steel, cast iron, rolled steel, and its products.
Since 2016, the investment in environmental programmes amounted to UAH 350 million.
Sales of new commercial vehicles (including heavy vehicles) in July increased by 11% compared to July 2019, to 1,163 vehicles, reports the Ukrautoprom association.
According to the association, the July sales result is 53.3% higher than the June one of the current year.
This increase in sales is primarily due to the results of the rating’s leader – Fiat, whose primary registrations grew 2.7 times by July 2019 and 2.3 times compared to June of the current year, to 257 units.
According to the data provided by Ukrautoprom, Peugeot moved to the second position in July from the fourth in June, pushing aside Renault. The demand for Peugeot vehicles doubled both compared to July 2019 and June 2020, to 164 units.
Renault has lost 38.6% of sales, ending the month with 127 registered vehicles (20% more than in June 2020). Mercedes-Benz came fourth (from the 11th position in July of the previous year) with 80 registrations against 43.
Ford entered the top five market leaders, having sold 72 vehicles in Ukraine – one unit more than a year ago.
Among the Ukrainian brands, only ZAZ entered the top twenty best-selling commercial vehicles with sales of 11 vehicles against 28 units in July 2020.
According to the statistics of the association, the market of buses of all classes in Ukraine in July decreased by almost 20% compared to July of the previous year but increased by 7.4% compared to June 2020, to 101 units.
The first place, as well as the last month, is occupied by Otaman buses of Cherkasy Bus Plant with the registration of 43 buses compared to 24 in July of the previous year and 45 buses in June of the current year.
Ford takes the second position climbing from the fourth in June, the demand for buses of this brand increased to 25 units – from 19 units in July 2019 and 10 units in June 2020, and the Ukrainian Etalon, which takes the third position, sold 10 buses comparing to six and 11, respectively.
The Ukrainian Ruta was fourth (five units against eight a year earlier), Hyundai was fifth with five buses (and none in July 2019).
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), due to the extension by the European Union of the ban on free crossing of the Schengen border for Ukrainian citizens, is making new adjustments to its August flight schedule.
The press service of UIA reported on Tuesday that in particular, until the end of August, flights to the following destinations are completely canceled: Larnaca (LCA), Frankfurt (FRA), Baku (GYD), Prague (PRG), Vienna (VIE), Chisinau (KIV), Berlin (TXL), Athens (ATH), Rome (FCO), and Barcelona (BCN).
Domestic flights in August, the airline will operate to the following destinations: Odesa (ODS), Kherson (KHE), and Lviv (LWO).
Flights to Kherson will be operated every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and back – every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Flights from Kyiv to Odesa will be operated daily, and the Kyiv-Lviv-Kyiv flight will be performed in the Lviv direction on August 21 and August 28 with a return on August 24 and August 30.
UIA plans to operate international flights to the following destinations: Kyiv – Amsterdam (AMS) – Kyiv, Kyiv – London (LGW) – Kyiv, Kyiv – Paris (CDG) – Kyiv, Kyiv – Toronto (YYZ) – Kyiv, Kyiv – Nice (NCE) – Kyiv, Kyiv – Dubai (DXB) – Kyiv, Kyiv – Istanbul (IST) – Kyiv, Odesa – Istanbul (IST) – Odesa, Kyiv – Tel Aviv (TLV) – Kyiv, Odesa – Tel Aviv (TLV) – Odesa, Kyiv – Milan (MXP) – Kyiv, Kyiv – Naples (NAP) – Kyiv, Kyiv – Munich (MUC) – Kyiv, Kyiv – Yerevan (EVN) – Kyiv, Kyiv – Madrid (MAD) – Kyiv, and Kyiv – Cairo (CAI) – Kyiv.
Frequency changes will take place on the following routes: Kyiv – London (LGW) – Kyiv (due to unstable demand on the route, there are flights to London on August 9, August 28, August 30 and August 31); Kyiv – Nice (NCE) – Kyiv (return flights every Saturday); Kyiv – Toronto (YYZ) – Kyiv (flights are planned on August 1, August 15 and August 29 with the return to Kyiv on August 2, August 16 and August 30, respectively); Kyiv – Milan (MXP) – Kyiv (weekly return flights); Kyiv – Naples (NAP) – Kyiv (return flights every Saturday); Kyiv – Dubai (DXB) – Kyiv (on Fridays and Saturdays until August 28, with an additional frequency on August 5 and will operate on Thursdays between August 13 – August 27); Kyiv – Istanbul (IST) – Kyiv (every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as on August 5 and additionally on Fridays from August 7 to 28); Kyiv – Tel Aviv (TLV) – Kyiv (every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as August 31); Kyiv – Madrid (MAD) – Kyiv (on Fridays from August 7 to August 28, as well as August 31).
All other routes remain unchanged, UIA said.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at a meeting on August 5 approved the State Strategy for Regional Development for 2021-2027.
“The document was prepared by the Ministry of Regional Development. This important document is filled with new content, European approaches to the development of regions. I see this as one of the vectors of our movement and direction to the European Union,” Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said during the meeting.
He added that the document took into account the issue of a new administrative-territorial structure, while stressing that there is no talk of any liquidation of some of the social infrastructure facilities.
According to the presentation of the strategy made by Minister of Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Chernyshov, new functional types of territories were identified, as well as regions that are in the focus of regional policy: the mountainous territories of the Carpathians, the coastal zones of the Black and Azov Seas, nature reserves, border areas, including those on the contact lines, rural areas in unfavorable conditions, agglomerations, centers of economic growth, mono-functional cities, as well as temporarily occupied territories. For each functional region, the ministry has identified important development aspects.
The Ministry of Regional Development also began developing plans of measures to implement the strategy for the next three years, as well as aligning regional strategies. In addition, a draft law has been prepared on reforming the State Fund for Regional Development to finance the implementation of the state strategy.
“To achieve the set goals, the targeted use of funds from the state budget is critically important. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the system of financing regional development, including at the expense of the State Fund for Regional Development,” Chernyshov said
The creation of an investment court, an idea promulgated by Ukraine’s Justice Minister Denys Maliuska, could facilitate doing business in Ukraine, Omerta Organized Law Group head Yevhen Fedoseyev has said.
“The declared creation of an investment court will greatly facilitate doing business in Ukraine, because if investors have a virtually unconditional guarantee that in any case, their property rights and interests are practically not threatened, they will start investing more in our country,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
The lawyer noted that this initiative is not new, and similar courts already exist in a number of countries.
“Investors from all over the world are increasingly turning to investment arbitration as a way of resolving a dispute with the state every year. This mechanism for protecting the rights of an investor has proved to be effective, which is confirmed by both the number of international bilateral and multilateral agreements containing clauses on investment arbitration, and the number of initiated cases, “he said.
Fedoseyev recalled that a permanent arbitration institute, the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has been operating in Ukraine for more than 25 years, however, appeals to him are not too popular, since none of the Ukraine agreements concluded on mutual assistance and protection of foreign investment provides for the ICAC at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry as an institution for resolving investment disputes, as well as because of general legal nihilism. ”
“Of course, the new court in Ukraine will need to develop a practice that has been built in the courts of Western Europe for decades, however, the transparency of the creation of such a body, its competence, objectivity can create a positive image not only for the body itself, but also for the state as a whole, which will ensure inflow of new investors into the country, “the lawyer emphasized.
As reported, in early July at a meeting with European business representatives, Maliuska announced an initiative to create a concept for creating a separate court that would deal with investors’ cases – arbitration or a separate court that would consider cases with the participation of business.
