National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom in January-September 2019 doubled net profit year-over-year, to UAH 4.251 billion.
According to a company report in the information disclosure system of the National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market, its net revenue grew by 10.4%, to UAH 34.774 billion, and gross profit – by 10.8%, to UAH 8.082 billion.
As reported, in January-September 2019, Energoatom reduced electricity production by 0.5% (323.1 million kWh) compared to the same period in 2018, to 60.729 billion kWh. Power plants of Energoatom during this period released 57.02 billion kWh to the market compared with 57.376 billion kWh a year earlier.
In 2018, Energoatom increased its net profit by 21.2% compared to 2017, to UAH 4.632 billion, net income by 14.5%, to UAH 44.055 billion.
Energoatom is the operator of all four operating nuclear power plants in Ukraine. It operates 15 power units equipped with water-cooled power reactors with a total installed electric capacity of 13.835 GW.
Numbers of Ukrainian population by regions as of September 1, 2019
The economic growth of Ukraine in 2020 will be 3%, according to the basic macroeconomic forecast prepared by the analytical department of Alfa-Bank (Kyiv).
“We expect Ukraine’s economy to maintain moderate rate of growth in 2020, adding another 3% after 3.3% in 2019. This would be the fifth year of economic recovery in a row (only in the 2000s, Ukraine did enjoy a longer growth period),” according to the forecast posted on the bank’s website.
“Growing consumer demand should be the major driver for the economy next year. We also expect further expansion in investment, supported by maintained macro-financial stability and declining interest rates. However, economic growth would be limited by global economic cool down, some worsening in terms of trade (that is, the ratio of prices for key exports and imports), limited foreign direct investment, cutbacks in margins of some big sectors, and tighter labor market with regard to demographic challenges,” it says.
“Macro-financial stability, coupled with tight monetary policy, low imported inflation, and limited current needs in upward reviews of administratively regulated prices would facilitate further slowdown in inflation. However, strong growth in wages and consumer demand would exert some upside pressure on prices. We expect the growth in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to slow down from current 7.5% to 6.3% at the end of 2020,” according to the document.
The bank said the foreign exchange market will remain stable: the average annual hryvnia to U.S. dollar exchange rate is to be close to the indicators of 2017-2019. The average annual hryvnia exchange rate in 2020 will be UAH 26.65/$1, the bankers stated.
“Economic growth, maintained macro-financial stability, moderate fiscal deficit and declining interest rates would ease the debt burden for the state. According to our estimates, the public debt to GDP ratio will go down from 60.9% in 2018 to 52.7% in 2020,” the bank said.
The total state (direct) and state-guaranteed debt of Ukraine in September 2019 increased by 1.26%, or by $1.03 billion, to $82.95 billion, according to data on Finance Ministry’s website.
According to the ministry, the state debt in the national currency decreased by 3.36%, to UAH 1.997 trillion.
In September, direct government debt in U.S. dollars rose by 1.77%, to $72.99 billion (in hryvnias it fell by 2.86%, to UAH 1.758 trillion), in particular external debt decreased by 2.88%, to $38.66 billion.
The state-guaranteed debt last month decreased by 2.36%, to $9.95 billion (in hryvnias decreased by 6.81%, to UAH 239.73 billion), in particular external one fell by 2.72%, to $9.49 billion.
In general, since the beginning of the year, the aggregate public debt of Ukraine increased by 5.91%, or by $4.63 billion, however, in hryvnia equivalent, due to the strengthening of the national currency, it decreased by 6.72%, or by UAH 143.92 billion.
According to the Finance Ministry, the share of liabilities in U.S. dollars of the overall structure of Ukraine’s public debt fell to 39.58% in September, in euros it decreased to 9.93%, in Canadian dollars to 0.18%, in special borrowing rights to 13.46%, in yen to 0.69%, while in hryvnias it increased to 36.15%.
The official hryvnia exchange rate, according to which the Finance Ministry calculates the national debt, strengthened in September to UAH 24.08/$1 compared to UAH 27.688/$1 at the beginning of the year.
Nafta RV LLC, a subsidiary of Slovakia’s Nafta, has won an electronic auction to receive a license for developmet of the Vantazhkivske oil, gas field (Poltava region), according to information on the ProZorro.Sale platform. During the auction held last Wednesday, Nafta RV offered UAH 6.846 million for the license compared with Optima Resource private enterprise, which stopped at the starting price of UAH 6.795 million.
After registering the required documents, Nafta RV will receive a subsurface site for geological exploration and further research and development for a period of 20 years.
According to the materials of the auction, prospective gas resources of category C3 at the Vantazhkivske field were estimated at 3.091 billion cubic meters. It is recommended to drill two exploratory wells with a depth of 5,700 meters and 6,300 meters.
Nafta’s main shareholder is EPH holding of Czech businessman Daniel Křetínský.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky calls on international partners to invest in the development of small towns in the country and emphasizes that the beginning of such a process has been launched in Mariupol.
“Our idea is to start the development from Mariupol. That is why the investment forum is taking place here, in eastern Ukraine. A city once liberated can become truly European,” the president said at a meeting with Vice President of the International Finance Corporation Georgina Baker, World Bank Country Director for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine Satu Kahkonen and Regional Manager of the International Finance Corporation in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova Jason Pellmar as part of the RE: THINK. Invest in Ukraine Forum in Mariupol, the presidential press service said.
He thanked the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation for their assistance with reform implementation. “You have seen how many bills have already been adopted. We are now starting to implement them,” the president said.
In addition, the head of state thanked the International Finance Corporation for the implementation of the transport project in Mariupol. He expressed hope that similar projects would appear in other cities of Ukraine.
Zelensky said he was ready to protect the investments and called for investing in the development of small settlements. “In particular, we need investments to build new schools, hospitals, roads and bridges,” the president said.
DEVELOPMENT, INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS, INVEST, SMALL SETTLEMENTS
