Brokbusiness insurance company (Kyiv) in January-September 2019 collected UAH 159.4 million in gross premiums, which is 9.59% less than in the same period a year earlier, according to Expert-Rating agency that confirmed the company’s financial stability rating at “uaAA-“according to the national scale.
According to the agency, at the same time, part of insurance premiums owned by reinsurers almost doubled, to UAH 16.5 million, which accounted for 10.35% of gross premiums.
For the three quarters of 2019, the company made insurance claim fee payments in the amount of UAH 70.170 million. The insurer’s payment level increased by 6.12 percentage points, to 44.02%.
By September 30, 2019 the assets of Brokbusiness decreased by 0.37%, to UAH 222.7 million, net worth by 4.82%, to UAH 94.840 million, gross liabilities decreased by 3.91%, to UAH 127.850 million. As a result, the coverage of the insurer’s liabilities by net worth for this period increased by 6.18 percentage points, to 74.18%.
Cash and cash equivalents on the company’s accounts amounted to UAH 70.840 million, which is 16.85% less than at the end of the third quarter of the year before.
In the nine months, Brokbusiness posted a net loss of UAH 10.4 million, while in the nine months of 2018 the figure was UAH 16.7 million.
Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) in July-September 2019 received a net profit of $104.1 million, while in the same period in 2018 it saw a net loss of $48.8 million.
According to the holding’s quarterly financial statements posted on the London Stock Exchange, its revenue in the third quarter increased by 26.8%, to $559.8 million, and EBITDA by 10.1%, to $109 million.
MHP’s gross profit increased by 2.2%, to $93.9 million, while operating profit fell by 43.8%, to $39.8 million.
The agricultural holding explains the net profit figures with positive exchange rate differences in the reporting period in the amount of $109 million compared to a foreign exchange loss of $88 million in the third quarter of 2018.
MHP notes that over the indicated period, export revenue reached $317 million, which is 57% of total revenue (in the third quarter of 2018 some $223 million, 57% of total revenue).
Ukraine has accumulated significant reserves of natural gas in its underground gas storage facilities and coal in the warehouses of thermal power plants, which will allow passing this winter even in case of interruption in gas transit from January 1, 2020, Minister of Energy and Environment Protection of Ukraine Oleksiy Orzhel has said.
“This means that Ukraine this winter, even without transit, will not be cold,” he said on the air of ICTV Channel.
According to him, traditionally the greatest risks may arise in February-March, when stocks in underground gas storages become smaller. At the same time, stress tests conducted by the GTS operator indicate that even on the peak days of maximum consumption, the country will be able to satisfy the gas demand of Ukrainian consumers.
Orzhel also said that the government is developing mechanisms to prevent a sharp increase in gas prices in winter for consumers in the country.
As reported, as of November 16, 2019 Ukraine has 21.530 billion cubic meters in underground gas storage facilities, which exceeds the November 16, 2018 reserves by 27.1%, those on November 16, 2017 by 29.3%, and November 16, 2016 by 52.5%.
Coal reserves in the warehouses of thermal power plants of energy generating companies of Ukraine amount to 2.243 million tonnes, which is 33.6% more than last year’s reserves.
Farmak pharmaceutical company (Kyiv) is conducting pharmaceutical studies of medicines, which were manufactured by the company, in the United States and EU member states, chief scientific consultant at JSC Farmak (Ukraine) Viktor Marhitych said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine. “We are conducting a series of bioequivalence studies in the EU. We have very good generics. Their conformity is confirmed by bioequivalence studies in good clinics and laboratories. This is an important area of work that Farmak is doing,” he said.
According to the expert, soon a full research program will be soon completed for the Amizon preparation.
“This is so far our only original molecule, which we are developing according to the full program for original medicines. Over time, the drug research program should be fully implemented, the third phase of research should be completed, after which it will be possible to submit the drug for registration,” Marhitych said.
He said that huge investments are needed for the third phase of drug research.
“The third phase is hundreds of millions of dollars. We will consider how to attract such investments. Our founder, Filia Zhebrovska, said that the drug [Amizon], which is the best seller on the market, should be safe and effective. And we can confirm that the drug is safe and effective, and provide evidence, some of which are published, and another will be published,” the expert said.
In turn, the experts who conducted the research on the drug, in particular, Senior Researcher, Ph.D., at Research Institute of University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (Chicago, U.S.) David Boltz; Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Director of the Global Health & Emerging Pathogens Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York Adolfo Garcia-Sastre; group leader, Ph.D., University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK) Aartyan te Veltuis and Regents Distinguished Professor & KBA Eminent Scholar, Ph.D., Diagnostic Medicine Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS Jürgen A. Richt said that cooperation with Farmak started back in the 1990s. According to them, the drug itself is tested “for effectiveness on dozens of strains of viruses, it is proved that it is a powerful antiviral agent.”
The World Bank has improved the forecast for Ukraine’s GDP growth in 2019 from 3.4% to 3.6%, World Bank Senior Economist Anastasia Golovach has said.
“For 2019, we do not expect any surprises and we think that Ukraine’s GDP will grow by 3.6%. A good indicator, but external risks, in some way, are increasing for Ukraine, so the structural transformation of the economy is important,” she said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
She noted that maintaining the current rate of economic growth will require an increase in capital investment, which amounted to 10% last year. This will require a greater influx of foreign direct investment.
At the same time, the bank kept forecasts of economic growth in 2020 at 3.7% of GDP, in 2021 at 4.2%, she said.
According to the banker, the deficit of the balance of payments in Ukraine in 2019 is expected to reach 3.1% of GDP, however, due to the potential loss of gas transit revenues and the unfavorable situation in the world markets, this figure will increase in 2020 and 2021 to 3.6% and 3.8% of GDP.
“But subject to rapid reforms, we expect in the next month that Ukraine will be able to maintain the economic growth rate at 3.7% in 2020 and accelerate it to 4.2% in 2021,” Golovach explained.
“An important factor in reducing pressure on the budget deficit is control over current budget expenditures and a balanced reduction in the minimum wage this year – only at the level of 12%, which is very contrasted with the previous years,” Golovach said.
Moreover, according to her, inflation will continue the downward trend: from 9.8% at the end of last year to 6.4% by the end of this year, as well as 5.5% and 5% in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
According to the bank’s expectations, in 2019 the deficit of the national budget of Ukraine will show a decrease to 2.1% in 2020 and 1.9% in 2021.
The World Bank believes that the level of public debt of Ukraine will also continue to decline this year to 51.7% of GDP. At the same time, the bank maintained the forecast for its further growth in 2020 and in 2021 to 54.6% and 55.3% of GDP respectively.
Prices for construction and assembly work in Ukraine in January-September 2019 increased by 7.8% compared with January-September 2018. According to the State Statistics Service, the indicators are given without taking into account the annexed territory of Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as part of the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
According to statistics, since the beginning of the year, prices have risen in all segments of construction. So, in residential construction the growth was 9.8%, in non-residential some 6.6%, and in engineering 7%.
In September 2019 from September 2018, the cost of construction work in residential construction rose by 6.4%, in non-residential by 1.9%, and in engineering by 3.1%.
In addition, the State Statistics Service said that in September compared with August, the cost of construction of residential buildings increased slightly by 0.3%, engineering structures by 3.1%, while non-residential decreased by 0.3%.
According to the report, in 2018 prices for construction work in Ukraine increased by 23% compared to the previous year, while in 2017 by 13.4%.
