Business news from Ukraine

DAIRY GROUP MILKILAND SEES EUR 7.35 MLN NET LOSS IN 2017

Milkiland, a dairy group with assets in Ukraine, Russia and Poland, saw EUR 7.35 million of net loss in 2017, which is 81.1% less than in 2016. According to a company report on the website of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), revenue last year fell by 4.35, to EUR 140.41 million. Gross profit grew by 12.2%, to EUR 23.69 million. Operating profit stood at EUR 0.59 million compared with EUR 5.5 million of operating loss in 2016.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew 1.9-fold, to EUR 10.28 million, net debt reached EUR 85.14 million at the end of 2017 compared with EUR 101.24 million in 2016. The net debt/EBITDA ratio fell from 18.6 to 8.28. Total assets decreased by 4.8%, to EUR 160.42 million.
Russia is the largest market for Milkiland contributing about 62% to the group’s total consolidated revenue in 2017. Sales in Ukraine account for about 27% of the group’s revenue and include all range of dairy products. Poland secured 8% of the group’s total revenue in 2017, while other countries account for 3%.
At the same time, revenue in the segment of whole milk products declined by 10.2% year-on-year to EUR 73.25 million compared to 2016 (52%); cheese and butter – by 9.5%, to EUR 42.25 million (30%); in the segment of dried milk and other products, revenue increased by 34.5%, to EUR 24.92 million (18%).
Milkiland in 2017 began shipping to several new markets, in particular to Israel, China, Denmark and the Netherlands. In 2017, the group invested EUR 2.8 million to support assets in Ukraine, Russia and Poland. In 2018, Milkiland intends to invest up to EUR2 million in servicing its assets and introducing new products in key group markets. “Despite some positive steps to better results and margins, in 2017 the group did not achieve a task of restoring the profitability of its business. The current year is expected to be crucial for reaching a break-even point for generation of the new value of the business. The Group’s management is going to achieve this by continuing a policy aimed at strengthening of the market positions of Milkiland in the countries of its operations, as well as on searching for new, and advancing at the existed export markets,” the company said.

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AGROHOLDING KSG AGRO HAS 77% FALL IN NET PROFIT – WARSAW STOCK EXCHANGE

KSG Agro agroholding saw $0.895 million of net profit in 2017, which is almost 77.4% less than in 2016. According to an unaudited report of the company posted on the website of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), revenue last year grew by 10.8%, to $23.19 million. Gross profit fell by 10.6%, to $11.64 million, and operating profit – by 29.6%, to $11.24 million.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell by 26.4%, to $12.73 million.
In 2017, the company increased sales of pigs and young pigs by 5.6%, to 9,810 tonnes (in monetary terms by 38.8% – to $11.8 million). Last year, the holding collected a crop harvest which was 1.6% less than in 2015 – 50,600 tonnes. In particular, 18,400 tonnes of sunflower, 19,700 tonnes of wheat, 5,200 tonnes of barley, 1,700 tonnes of corn, and 800 tonnes of rapeseed were harvested.
In the structure of KSG Agro’s revenue for the last year, the share of the grain segment decreased to 36% from 37% in 2016, the pig-breeding segment grew to 33% from 26%, processing – to 22% from 20%. Net debt of the company as of December 31, 2017 was $47.8 million.
KSG Agro restructured $3.88 million of liabilities for 30 years. This loan was previously taken in Credit Agricole Bank. In January 2018, the bank conceded it along with property rights as a pledge to a third party that restructured the loan.
The company is negotiating with international creditors related to the restructuring of the total debt of $18 million. The agroholding in 2017 signed letters of intent, which agreed on the preliminary conditions for debt restructuring. In accordance with them, KSG Agro is obliged to repay the debt in ten years starting from 2018. In December 2017, the group made a final decision on the choice of a legal adviser and began the process of preparing the agreement.

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JLL: OCCUPANCY OF KYIV HOTELS INCREASES BY 4% TO 43% IN Q1

The occupancy of Kyiv hotels in the first quarter of 2018 increased by 4 percentage points compared to the same period a year earlier and amounted to 43%, the press service of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) consulting company in Ukraine has said. “The operational indicators of the hotel market of the Ukrainian capital are gradually recovering. Even in first quarter, which is not traditionally active, dynamics is visible: the average market occupancy in the period from January to March increased by 4 p.p. compared to the previous year, to 43%, against the backdrop of tariff growth,” the head of the JLL hotel business department, Tetiana Veller, said.
According to JLL, the average tariff for staying in the top segment hotels in January-March increased by 8% compared to the first quarter of 2017 and amounted to $160, while in the middle segment this indicator increased by 18%, to $68. At the same time, the occupancy of expensive hotels remained at the last year’s level of 40%, while occupancy at middle segment hotels rose by 3 p.p., to 50%.
According to JLL’s forecasts, in the second quarter it is worth expecting an increase in the operating indicators of the capital hotels in connection with the Champions League final, as well as other cultural and business events. Jones Lang LaSalle provides financial and comprehensive professional services in the field of real estate. The company’s turnover in 2017 was $7.9 billion. The portfolio in real estate management is 423 million square meters. The company has about 300 corporate offices in more than 80 countries around the world, uniting more than 82,000 employees.

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