Lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) becomes a driver of the banking market, Deputy Board Chairperson of the bank Globus Olena Dmitriyeva said at a roundtable organized by the Financial Club in Kyiv on Tuesday. “SME becomes a driver of lending, as in this segment the quality of the portfolio is twice better than the quality of portfolios of corporate clients. 75% of banks started lending to SME, and this is a good trend,” she said. Dmitriyeva said that at present, banks are trying to relax the decision making processes for lending to SME.
Head of the SME department at Piraeus Bank Svitlana Bazhenova said that from October 2017 through February 2018, the SME loan portfolio in Ukraine grew by UAH 25 billion.
“The growth of SME share of total portfolio of loans issued to businesses by Ukrainian banks grew from 51% to 52% of the total loan portfolio. The growth was mainly generated by loans to SME,” she said. Deputy Director of the SME department at Ukrgasbank Semen Puskai pointed out the importance of programs to support development of SME.
“We are optimistic about the future of the SME segment, as there are now many assistants in this area. There is the state that implements programs to reduce the cost of loans for agrarians, and we also see the active participation of international financial institutions like the German-Ukrainian Fund, the EIB and IFC. When decentralization began municipalities started joining the project. They cheapen lending rates and support business in their region… To date, the programs signed and declared with the municipalities are quite numerous, but it is necessary that these programs start working as soon as possible and then, there will be cheaper rates,” he said.
LENDING, MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES, SMALL ENTERPRISES, UKRAINIAN MARKET
Average retail prices for petrol, diesel fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Ukraine in the period from March 26 to April 2, 2018 fell by 0.1-0.3%, according to data from the A-95 Consulting Group (Kyiv). As reported, average retail prices for petrol in Ukraine for 2017 increased by 19.2-20.1% (by UAH 4.61-4.76 per liter), for diesel fuel by 22.6% (by UAH 4.84 per liter). At the same time, average prices for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), despite a sharp increase in August due to deficit, showed an increase of only 2.9% for the year (by UAH 0.36 per liter).
Changes in average retail fuel prices UAH per liter in Ukraine:
©Source: A-95 Consulting Company
The Prometey Group (Mykolaiv region) since early 2018 started exporting grain to Cyprus and Lebanon.
According to a posting on the company’s website, over 70,000 tonnes of grain was sold by the group in March on the markets of four countries. Along with Cyprus and Lebanon, importers of the group’s grain were also Italy and Greece.
“The increase in export volumes and the expansion of sales markets are one of the priority directions of the company’s development,” a leading trader at Prometey, Yunus Yusupov, said.
All the contracts for the supply of products were performed on the CPT, FOB and CIF conditions. The goods was shipped by large-capacity vessels like Handysize and low-tonnage vessels of Coaster type from Berdiansk, Mykolaiv and Odesa ports. The main crops in this period were corn, soybean, barley and wheat.
In addition, the group plans to invest more than UAH 20 million in the modernization of the Chetyrboki silo (Khmelnytsky region) by the end of 2018.
Now the total storage capacity of the silo is 30,000 tonnes. On the territory of the silo complex there are 15 floor warehouses.
During the modernization, the electronic truck scales will be installed in the silo with a 20-meter platform with a carrying capacity of up to 80 tonnes. It is also planned to automate the points of shipment and unloading, the grain transportation system, repair warehouses, approach roads and internal roads.
The company expects that after the complete reconstruction of the silo the speed of acceptance of grain will double. Prometey provides grain and sunflower storage, processing and logistics services on the basis of 18 elevators in Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Khmelnytsky, Zaporizhia and Cherkasy regions. The founder and owner of the group is Rafael Goroyan.
Ukrproduct Group, a large Ukrainian producer of packaged butter, processed cheese and kvass, expects operating profit of about UAH 16.2 million (GBP500,000) in 2017 compared to an operating loss of approximately UAH 7.4 million (GBP200,000) in 2016. “The Ukrainian dairy foods and beverage producer is guiding for revenue of around GBP31 million for 2017, which would be a strong increase on the GBP20.2 million posted in 2016. Operationally, Ukrproduct expects a profit of approximately GBP500,000 after an operating loss of GBP200,000 in 2016, which will boost earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization,” reads a report by Ukrproduct on the website of the London Stock Exchange.
“Despite these improvements, the company is expecting an overall loss due to the negative impact of foreign exchange,” it states.
According to a press release, by the end of 2017 Ukrproduct estimated its net liabilities at UAH 429 million with free cash stocks of UAH 18.7 million. However, after the end of the financial year, the financial situation of the group improved after a new loan agreement for UAH 65 million with Creditwest Bank and the subsequent full repayment of the loan from OTP Bank.
Ukrproduct notes that in 2017 the Ukrainian economy demonstrated the encouraging GDP growth, while wage growth led to an increase in consumer confidence, which improved the trading capacity of the group within the country, despite the continuing competition in the market. In addition, the weakening of the hryvnia provided Ukrproduct with additional opportunities for business development in export markets, the report says.
Regal Petroleum Plc with assets in Ukraine in 2017 saw a net profit of $2.29 million, while in 2016 its net loss was $1.26 million. According to a report by Regal posted on the website of the London Stock Exchange, its revenue in the past year increased by 36.6%, to $35.05 million.
Of this revenue, gas accounted for $24.94 million (a year earlier $16.53 million), condensate for $7.96 million ($5.7 million), and LPG for $2.16 million ($3.43 million).
Taking into account exchange rate differences, Regal’s total profit for 2017 was $1.04 million against the cumulative loss of $7.26 million for 2016.
The company said its operating cash flow in 2017 compared to 2016 grew by 80%, to $18 million, and the average gas price rose from $213 per 1,000 cubic meters to $241 per 1,000 cubic meters, condensate from $51 per barrel to $67 per barrel, LPG from $43 per barrel to $56 per barrel.
Regal notes at the end of 2017 the average daily production of hydrocarbons stood at 2,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), which is about 65% more than at the end of 2016.
At the same time, the company’s capital investments last year fell to $4 million from $13.9 million a year earlier.