Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Market of new commercial vehicles in Ukraine grew by 24% in January 2025

Registrations of new commercial vehicles (trucks and special vehicles) in January 2025 increased by 24% compared to the same month in 2024 – up to 972 thousand units, UkrAvtoprom reported in its telegram channel.

At the same time, the demand for such cars decreased by 28% compared to December 2014.

According to the association, Renault holds the leadership in this segment of the car market with 220 units (-15% by January 2014), and MAN has risen to the second place with 110 units against 16 units in January last year, when it was ranked 16th in the rating of new commercial vehicles.

Citroen took the third place, up from fourth a year earlier, with 78 units (twice as many), followed by Ford with 68 units (2.4 times more) and Scania with 50 units (2.2 times more).

As reported, in January 2024, the market of new commercial vehicles increased by 11% compared to January 2023 – up to 783 units, and the top five brands were Renault (259 units), JAC (50 units), Opel (41 units), Citroen (39 units) and Mercedes-Benz (36 units).

In 2024, according to UkrAvtoprom, 12.9 thousand new commercial vehicles were registered in Ukraine, up 14% year-on-year.

Ferrexpo shares plummet 25.5% after news of $3.76 bln lawsuit

The share price of Ferrexpo plc, a mining company with major assets in Ukraine, fell by 25.5% to 80 pence after the stock exchange announced on February 4 that law enforcement agencies had filed a civil lawsuit against the company’s subsidiary Poltava Mining and Processing Plant (PGOK) and its CEO for damages in favor of the Ukrainian state in the amount of UAH 157 billion (about $3.76 billion).

According to the London Stock Exchange’s website, in the first minutes after the company published this information, the shares fell by more than half – by 52%, to 51.5 pence, but by the end of the day, after several ups and downs, their price rose to 80 pence.

Currently, the spread on the company’s shares has widened to 57 pence to buy and 130 pence to sell, according to the stock exchange. According to Ferrexpo’s February 4 publication, the company received information that the National Police completed a pre-trial investigation on January 16, 2025, into the sale of iron ore pellets and sent the case to the court of first instance.

“The initial charges of illegal sale of waste have been transformed into charges of illegal extraction and sale of subsoil (minerals other than iron ore), which allegedly caused environmental damage. The company completely rejects these allegations on the grounds that there was no illegal mining,” Ferrexpo said.

The company emphasized that the plant extracts iron ore under a mining license. The iron ore is then processed to produce iron ore pellets.
As a result of these processes, any waste that remains is disposed of in accordance with best mining practices and environmental standards. “Based on the information received by the Group and after consultations with

Ukrainian lawyers, PGOK believes that these accusations and claims are unfounded and intends to firmly defend its position in the Ukrainian courts,” Ferrexpo said and added that the Group’s operations remain unchanged.
Earlier it was reported that other investigative actions are being taken against the management of the Mining and Processing Plant. In particular, in September 2023, the National Police investigators notified Viktor Lotous, Chairman of the Board of the Mining and Processing Plant, of suspicion of illegal mining worth UAH 157 billion. Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine.

Ferrexpo owns 100% of shares in Poltava Mining, 100% of shares in Yeristovo Mining and 99.9% of shares in Bilanivsky Mining. Ferrexpo’s net profit for the first half of 2024 amounted to $54 million, up 104% compared to the first half of 2023, while revenue increased by 64% to $549 million. Over the past year, Ferrexpo’s share price has fluctuated between 38.15 pence and 124 pence, with a current capitalization of GBP478.5 million, although before the war, in the summer of 2021, during the global shortage of mining raw materials, the share price reached a maximum of 480.8 pence.

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“Pozhmashina” to build plant in Lviv for $15 mln

Pozhmashyna Industrial Company (Pryluky, Chernihiv region) has signed an agreement with the Formatsiya.Lviv industrial park to build a new plant, the company reports on its Facebook page.

“The day of January 31, 2025 will go down in the history of not only our company, but also in the history of Ukrainian engineering (…). Realizing all the military and other risks, we are investing $15 million in Ukraine, in the development of the country’s industry, and in job creation,” the statement said.

The construction period is two years.

“Despite everything – a full-scale invasion, all the difficulties and risks, the shameful attitude of the authorities to business that exists today – we, an industrial company, did not run away, did not close production, did not lay off people,” Pozhmashina emphasizes.

As reported, after the outbreak of full-scale hostilities, Pozhmashina partially relocated its production facilities to Lviv.

Pozhmashyna produces a wide range of firefighting, rescue and specialized equipment, and has repeatedly supplied special equipment to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

According to the Clarity Project, in 2023, the company increased its net profit by 19.3% year-on-year to UAH 537.7 million, while net revenue increased 2.2 times to UAH 2 billion 093 million. In January-September 2024, net profit decreased by 2.8 times compared to the first nine months of 2023 to UAH 189.3 million, while revenue more than halved to UAH 946.7 million.

Oleg Averyanov is the founder and ultimate beneficiary of Pozhmashina Industrial Company.

Formatsiya.Lviv Industrial Park was included in the register of industrial parks in October 2023. The concept envisages the location of manufacturing enterprises with a total area of over 150 thousand square meters and the creation of 3,600 jobs on an area of over 30 hectares.

The park was created by Alterra Group in cooperation with Lviv City Council, Kyiv School of Economics and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.

In December 2024, the park received more than UAH 114 million in funding from the Ministry of Economy under the “Made in Ukraine” program for the construction and development of infrastructure.

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Pharmacy sales in Ukraine increased by 10.7% in money terms in 2024

Pharmacy sales in Ukraine in 2024 increased by 10.67% in monetary terms compared to 2023 – up to UAH 192.843 billion, while in physical terms they decreased by 5% to more than 1.157 billion packages.

Business Credit told Interfax-Ukraine that, according to its research, the weighted average price of pharmacy basket goods in 2024 amounted to UAH 166.59, up 16.53% compared to 2023.

At the same time, pharmacy sales of medicines in 2024 amounted to UAH 151 billion, which is 10.83% more than a year earlier, but in physical terms, pharmacy sales of medicines decreased by 5.64% to 810.155 million packs.

In 2024, the weighted average retail price of medicines amounted to UAH 186.39 per unit, which is 17.45% more than in 2023.

Pharmacy sales of dietary supplements in 2024 increased by 11.06% in monetary terms to UAH 19.992 billion, while in physical terms they decreased by almost 3.06% to 99.012 million packs. The weighted average price in this segment in 2024 increased by 14.56% compared to 2023, to UAH 201.92 per unit.

At the same time, according to Business Credit, a decrease in sales in physical terms was recorded in almost all segments of the pharmacy basket, except for dermatocosmetics (+1.34%), medical equipment (+6.29%), mineral water (+3.82%) and bandages (+6.61%).

As reported, in January-June 2024, pharmacy sales in Ukraine increased by 12.67% in monetary terms compared to the same period in 2023 to UAH 94.784 billion, while in physical terms they decreased by 4.7% to 583.21 million packs. The weighted average price of pharmacy basket products during this period amounted to UAH 162.52, which is 18.25% more than in the same period of 2023.

At the same time, pharmacy sales of medicinal products in January-June 2024 amounted to UAH 74.258 billion, which is 12.68% more than in the same period of 2023, but in physical terms decreased by 5.13% to 408.796 million packs. The weighted average retail price of medicinal products in January-June 2024 amounted to UAH 181.65 per unit, which is 18.67% more than a year earlier.

KP “Kyivpastrans” announced tender for MTPL insurance with budget of almost UAH 17 million

Communal enterprise “Kyivpastrans” on February 3 announced a tender for compulsory insurance of civil liability of owners of land vehicles (MTPL) category D1, D2, C2, E 870 units.

As reported in the system of electronic public procurement Prozorro, the expected cost of the purchase of insurance services is 16.672 million UAH. Applications for participation in the tender are accepted until February 12.

 

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NovaPay increased volume of transfers by 31% in 2024

In 2024, NovaPay international financial service (TM NovaPay) completed 418 million transfers, which is 18% more than in 2023.

According to the press service of NovaPay on Tuesday, the total volume of transfers through the system in 2024 reached UAH 308.5 billion, which is 31% more than in 2023.

In addition, charitable foundations made 1.5 thousand transfers through NovaPay for UAH 32.5 million.

“We are proud that even in today’s challenges we can grow steadily, support the economy and set new records. This is the result of well-coordinated teamwork and the trust of our customers and partners. We continue to innovate to provide the best financial services,” Andriy Kryvoshapko, CEO of NovaPay, was quoted as saying by the company’s press service.

In 2024, NovaPay set a record by completing 2.57 million transactions in one day. The maximum processing speed reached 65 transactions per second.

In addition, in 2024, NovaPay transferred about UAH 1.5 billion to the country’s budget, 23% more than in 2023.

NovaPay has invested UAH 5.9 million in Ukraine’s victory, which is another important step towards a common goal, the service’s press service reports.

“NovaPay (TM NovaPay) is an international financial service that is part of the NOVA group of companies and has been providing online and offline payment services in more than 3,600 Nova Poshta branches for over 12 years. The service was the first non-bank financial institution in Ukraine to receive an extended license from the NBU, which allowed it to open accounts and issue cards.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of December 1, 2024, NovaPay LLC issued 449.11 thousand payment cards, of which 123.34 thousand were active (at least one transaction in November). With a share of 0.22%, the company ranked 17th in the market, but still lags far behind the leaders PrivatBank (29.28 million) and mono (9.86 million active cards). At the same time, at the beginning of 2024, NovaPay issued only 13 thousand cards.

In addition, the company had 10.71 thousand installed payment terminals at the beginning of December, compared to 3.43 thousand at the beginning of the year, and installed the first 10 self-service devices. In terms of the number of payment terminals, NovaPay with a 2.1% share overtook Ukrposhta with its 1.4% share and ranked fifth in the market, where the undisputed leader is PrivatBank with a 60.7% share.