Group DF, uniting assets of businessman Dmytro Firtash, has denied accusations of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) of the alleged tax evasion by some enterprises of the group using pseudo insurance on the Ukrainian market. “Observing the requirements of the legislation, the group’s enterprises operate on market conditions with a number of insurance companies and insure risks in strict compliance with Ukrainian legislation,” the Group DF said in the statement forwarded to Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
The group said that its chemical enterprises belong to a group of facilities with an increased level of danger and are required to insure the risks of economic activity under the law on insurance.
Group DF recalled that in August 2017, the PGO had already put forward charges similar to the current ones, and the group then claimed and now confirms that the information disclosed is untrue.
The group insists that its enterprises pay taxes in full amount and considers the accusations of optimizing tax payments as a bias of law enforcement agencies against Group DF and the attempt to put pressure on its shareholder.
According to the statement, the group is ready to appeal to courts and human rights institutions to restore justice. Earlier on Tuesday Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko and his spokesperson Larysa Sarhan said that the PGO raided some enterprises under control of Firtash on March 19 in a criminal case regarding the tax evasion in the amount of over UAH 500 million.
Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the Metinvest mining and metallurgical group, in 2017 increased capital investments by 45% compared to the previous year, to $542 million.
According to the audited consolidated financial results for 2017, expenditures on support projects accounted for 83% of total investments (75% in 2016), on strategic projects some 17% (25%).
At the same time, the metallurgical segment accounted for 51% of capital investments (52% in 2016), mining for 48% (46%).
Corporate expenses were $9 million for the reporting period ($4 million for 2016).
The total amount of net cash used in financing activities in 2017 was $110 million, which is 5% more than a year ago.
Net cash used in investing activities increased by 36% over the period compared to 2016, to $449 million. The total cash flow for the acquisition of fixed assets and intangible assets was $465 million, which is 30% more than in 2016. There were no proceeds from the sale of subsidiaries and affiliated companies, while in January 2016 the company received $6 million from the sale of its stake in Black Iron (Cyprus) Limited. Proceeds from the sale of fixed assets and intangible assets stood at $1 million compared with $3 million in 2016. The total amount of interest received was $15 million compared to $18 million in 2016.
Astarta agroindustrial holding, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, has started working in the fields and applied fertilizers to 40% of fields with winter crops.
The holding said in a press release that wheat, sugar beets, corn and soybeans remain the main crops in crop rotation.
In general, the company has around 54,000 ha with winter crops. The crops are in a good state.
“Areas planted with sugar beet will be at the level of last year, areas with corn and sunflower would be expanded,” the press service said.
The company also plans to stir up operations of subsidiary Astarta-Selection in 2018. The company’s core business is production of wheat and soybeans for seeds, field research, seed and soil laboratories.
In the course of preparation for the upcoming season, scheduled repairs of equipment and premises, step-by-step execution of investment projects are being carried out at the sugar refineries of Astarta. Large investment in this segment is aimed at building a new warehouse for bulk storage of sugar (Narkevychi sugar factory), creating a system of water treatment plants (between the Holbyne sugar refinery, the bioenergy complex and the Holbyne soybean processing plant) and installing new pulp presses.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in Poltava, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Cherkasy and Kharkiv regions.
Antonov State Enterprise (Kyiv) saw a 85.43% rise in net profit in 2017 under Ukrainian accounting standards, to UAH 330.22 million.
According to a financial report for 2017 posted on the company’s website, net revenue grew by 66.4%, to UAH 6.052 billion.
Antonov is the leading Ukrainian developer and manufacturer of aircraft, a recognized world leader in the niche of transport aircraft. The enterprise cooperates with more than 75 countries. By the decision of the government, the enterprise has been part of the Ukroboronprom State Concern since April 2015.
According to the enterprise, in 2016, its net profit under Ukrainian accounting standards grew 4.1-fold, to UAH 178.1 million and net revenue fell by 0.16%, to UAH 3.64 billion.
Kniazha Vienna Insurance Group (Kyiv) in 2017 saw a net loss of UAH 72.452 million, which is five times more than in 2016, according to materials for the agenda of a general shareholders’ meeting scheduled for April 16.
Undistributed loss of the company for the last year increased by 20.9%, to UAH 395.855 million.
The insurer for the year increased assets by 7%, to UAH 476.229 million. Net worth decreased by 2.6 times, to UAH 49.982 million.
Total debtor indebtedness rose by 35%, to UAH 9.171 million, cash and cash equivalents by 7.1%, to UAH 219.1 million.
Long-term liabilities increased by 38.5%, to UAH 345 million, current liabilities by 27%, to UAH 81.298 million.
Kniazha Vienna Insurance Group was established in August 1997. It has 27 licenses for voluntary and compulsory types of insurance. The regional network covers the entire territory of Ukraine.
