Business news from Ukraine

KYIV. March 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Bosch as part of developing the Bosch Service chain plans to authorize 15 new servicing stations and up to 30 partners under the Bosch Module program in 2016 (15 new servicing stations and 27 partners under the Bosch Module program in 2015), the company said in a press release.

The company said that as of early 2016, the Bosch Service chain united 111 servicing stations (including 17 Bosch Diesel Service/Bosch Diesel Centers) and 103 Bosch Module partners.

“These are good results that were beyond our expectations and plans. Bosch auto parts sales via the Bosch Service chain in hryvnias grew by 44% compared to 2014,” the press service said, citing Oleksandr Lizun, Bosch Automotive Aftermarket Head in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Transcaucasus and Central Asia.

The company believes that the strategically important result for the development of the Bosch Diesel chain is the launch of the Bosch QualityScan project to control the quality of repair of diesel elements at Bosch authorized servicing stations. A total of 14 diesel stations out of 17 joined the project.

Now Common Rail injectors and fuel injection pump assemblies repaired at Bosch Diesel Service/Bosch Diesel Centers are labeled by a sticker with a matrix code that allows receiving repair information online.

Lizun said that popularity of the chain has grown thanks to high trust of car owners to the quality of Bosch products, the smart policy of the sales department and cooperation with distributors, as well as the incentive programs launched in 2015.

Along with a fall in demand on new cars, car dealers have focused on the automotive aftermarket services and some of them opened Bosch Service stations to provide automotive aftermarket services.

This year it is planned to boost sales of auto parts in the euro equivalent.

Bosch plans to introduce the online application for servicing at the service stations and online business training system for Bosch Service sellers and service specialists.

Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of solutions and services.

KYIV. March 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine and the U.S. plan to expand cooperation on the market of space services, the press service for the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) has reported.

The SSAU reports that the meeting between SSAU Chairman Liubomyr Sabadosh and representatives of the American companies participating in the U.S. space services market and working on contracts with NASA, which took place in Kyiv last week, addressed the possibilities of expanding bilateral cooperation in the sector.

“The parties reached an agreement to sign a joint document for the purpose of expanding the possibilities for involving Ukrainian companies, establishments, research institutes and universities in joint projects with the U.S. on the space services market within the framework of cooperation with CRDF Global,” the report says.

The document is expected to be signed at the meeting of the Ukrainian-U.S. working group on cooperation in the sphere during the visit by Sabadosh to the U.S., which is scheduled for May, the press service has reported.

The U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CRDF Global) is a non-profit organization. It was founded in 1995 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) at the decision of the Congress for the purpose of promoting international technological cooperation.

Sabadosh has recently the parties will continue negotiations on bilateral cooperation in the sphere of rocket engine-building during the visit to the U.S. in May. Among the possible partnership formats is the creation of a joint venture.

According to earlier reports, the U.S. plans to fully stop using Russian RD-180 engines, which are now used by the rocket Atlas 5 of the U.S. United Launch Alliance (ULA)., by 2019 due to the restrictions imposed on military-technical cooperation with Russia by the Congress in 2014. The supply of RD 180 engines, which are installed on new rocket Antares for the ISS, is now limited to the civilian sphere. Among the participants in the tender fort the development of engines to replace the Russian RD 190, which the U.S. Air Force announced in June 2015, was Ukraine’s design and construction bureau Pivdenne (Dnipropetrovsk) with its new liquid RD 815.

The U.S. is now intensifying the implementation of the program to create the new generation rocket Vulcan for the U.S. Air Force. Under the contract that ULA and the Pentagon have recently signed, the project is to be implemented by the end of 2019. Under the contract, the U.S. Aerojet Rocketdyne is to ensure the development of a new AR1 to replace the RD 180 before the end of 2019.

KYIV. March 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Danone, a large dairy producer in Ukraine, jointly with partners, plans to boost the number of family dairy farms in the country to 206 by late June 2017, Director of the purchase department at Danone Iryna Kukhtina said in Kyiv last week.

“We have an idea of creating 206 family farms by late 2017, and people can come to the farmer, see everything and take as a pattern,” she said, adding that today 60 farms have been created.

Kukhtina said that the total volume of the cooperative and family farm development project financing in the period from 2010 to 2017 would be EUR 6.5 million. At present, the third phase of the project focused on the creation of the large number of family farms with 10-20 cows is being realized. Farmers that are taking part in the project reconstruct their cow farms or build a new one for some 10 cows using own money, while equipment (milking, cooling equipment, drinking, lighting and ventilation systems) are provided as part of the project.

A total of 17 cooperatives have been created. Farmers can become members of cooperatives if they have at least five or six cows.

“Last week a first cooperative that consists only of family farms (five) with the number of cows from five to 30 appeared in the south. Young persons aged around thirty are involved in it,” she said.

She said that at present, the cooperatives mainly produce second class milk. It is planned that they will produce first class milk by the completion of the project in 2017 and will provide for 10% of raw milk supplies to Danone.

In June 2015, USAID has joined the project, and the project was extended to one year.

“We planned to open 96 farms in the third phase of the project, but when USAID joined the project, it was extended for one year, and its value grew by EUR 1.4 million. This includes the money of the Canadian government, our partner,” Kukhtina said.

Danone is realizing the project to develop family dairy farms and cooperatives in Ukraine jointly with International Charitable Organization Community Wellbeing with support of Danone Ecosystem Fund and the Canadian government, USAID via Dnipropetrovsk Agricultural Advisory Service LLC.

KYIV. March 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Sea Port Authority of Ukraine saw an 80% rise in revenue in 2015, to UAH 8.074 billion.

Sea Port Authority Head Andriy Amelin said at a press conference on Thursday that revenue also grew thanks to the exchange rate difference.

He said that the authority’s profit was UAH 3.847 billion. He did not present the comparative data.

Amelin said that capital investment of the authority last year were only UAH 421 million. It is linked to a delay in the adoption of the authority’s financial plan – only in October.

According to a report on the operation of 100 largest state-run enterprises of Ukraine for the period of January-September 2015 posted on the website of the Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine, Sea Port Authority of Ukraine saw UAH 4.9 billion of net revenue in January-September 2015, which is 80% up year-over-year. The authority saw a rise of 2.8 times in net profit over the period, to UAH 3.4 billion, and net cost-effectiveness grew to 67.9%, while a year ago it was 44%.

The financial plan for 2016 sets revenue of UAH 7.929 billion and net profit of UAH 3.06 billion.

Sea Port Authority of Ukraine is a state-run enterprise that supervises the functioning of 13 seaports in Ukraine. The enterprise was founded in 2013. It owns port infrastructure facilities. 80% of revenue is denominated in the U.S. dollars, while the hryvnias in its expenses prevails.