Centravis Production Ukraine, a part of Centravis Ltd. holding, will invest over EUR3.5 million in the company’s production and development this year.
According to the company’s press release on Tuesday, Oleksandr Hripas, Head of Technical Development at Centravis, said that in 2022, Centravis focused on adapting to work in a full-scale war.
“We managed to quickly rebuild and maintain a high level of production and exports. This year, the team decided to resume investments. In total, we plan to invest over EUR 3.5 million in the modernization and development of production facilities. Most of the investments have been utilized, and the work is ongoing,” he said.
He also clarified that the main areas of investment are energy modernization, primarily energy efficiency measures and reduction of electricity consumption.
The company is strengthening its capabilities to operate in the face of electricity supply restrictions. A process metering system has already been launched, and electricity consumption has been significantly reduced, by up to 30% in some production areas. The company is also working to ensure uninterrupted water supply after the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was blown up.
In addition, the company invests in environmental modernization and environmental impact reduction. Thus, the chemical pipe treatment area was reconstructed, a system of specialized software for monitoring chemical indicators was launched, and a water recycling system was set up at certain units of technological equipment.
Investments are also being made in the modernization of non-production infrastructure, which includes the repair of premises, roads, stormwater drainage, roofs, etc.
A separate investment project is the launch and development of a new production facility in Uzhhorod. The company is creating one of the leading centers for the production of tool pipes for cars in Zakarpattia. The company plans to purchase another rolling mill soon, the third one.
The press service reminds that the new facility started operating in February this year and has already reached a production volume of about 255 thousand meters of pipes per month, or more than 60 tons. The main customers are well-known global automakers, including Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet.
“There will be no development without investment. That is why we are looking for investment opportunities despite the difficult operating environment. At the end of the year, we will evaluate the entire scope of work and plan for 2024. It is important not to stop and to provide our customers with the appropriate level of quality and service,” said Yuriy Atanasov, CEO of Centravis, as quoted by the press service.
“Founded in 2000, Centravis is one of the ten largest producers of seamless stainless steel pipes in the world. Its main production facilities are located in Nikopol (Dnipropetrovska oblast), and in 2023, a branch of the company was opened in Uzhhorod.
The company employs over 1400 people.
The company’s supply geography exceeds 50 countries. Currently, Centravis has offices in the United States, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates. “Centravis cooperates with Benteler Automotive, Buhlmann Group, Webco – with various companies on different continents.
Centravis Ltd. holding was established on the basis of Nikopol Stainless Pipe Plant CJSC, service and trading companies of Production and Commercial Enterprise YUVIS LLC. Its shareholders are members of the Atanasov family. Centravis Ltd. owns 100% of the shares in Centravis Production Ukraine.
In January-August 2023, Zhydachiv Pulp and Paper Mill (ZhPPM, Lviv region) produced products worth UAH 359.5 million, up 7.8% year-on-year.
According to statistics provided to Interfax-Ukraine by UkrPapir Association, in physical terms, the company’s output of corrugated packaging increased by 18.8% to 15.2 million square meters, containerboard by 24.8% to 10.9 thousand tons, and paper by 7.4% to almost 3 thousand tons.
In particular, in August, the plant increased its paper and cardboard production by 6.3% to almost 2 thousand tons by August 2022, while corrugated packaging production remained at the same level as last year, up to 1.96 million square meters. Compared to July this year, paper and cardboard production increased by 16.5%, while corrugated packaging production remained almost unchanged.
Zhytomyr Pulp and Paper Mill has a paper production capacity (base paper for corrugation, linerboard, cover paper) of 43 thousand tons per year, cardboard production capacity of 50 thousand tons, corrugated cardboard and corrugated packaging capacity of 120 million square meters, and cast containers (tray for 30 eggs) capacity of 72 million units per year.
As reported with reference to the association’s data obtained from the main industry enterprises, in January-August 2023, they produced a total of 361.56 thousand tons of paper and cardboard (10.2% more), and 335.2 million square meters of cardboard boxes (+18.3%).
In 2022, Zhydachiv Pulp and Paper Mill produced goods worth UAH 510.8 million, up 23.1% year-on-year, and net profit increased by 67.5% to UAH 41.76 million.
The general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on September 25 supported the appointment of Rafael Grossi as the agency’s director general for the next four years, namely from the beginning of December 2023.
According to the board’s decision at the 67th session of the general conference in Vienna, the conference particularly recognized Grossi’s efforts to ensure nuclear safety in Ukraine.
“I am honored to have been appointed by unanimous decision of the board to serve another term in office, and I am very grateful for the trust that member countries continue to place in me as chairman of this truly remarkable organization,” Grossi said.
He said, “This comes at a time when we face many serious challenges, and I am fully committed to continuing to do everything in my power to fulfill the IAEA’s important mission in support of global peace and development.”
In January-August 2023, Ruta, a major Ukrainian manufacturer of sanitary and hygienic paper products, whose management company is VGP JSC (Lutsk), produced UAH 1 billion 086.4 million worth of products, which is 97.1% more than in the same period in 2022.
According to UkrPapir’s statistics provided to Interfax-Ukraine, the company has thus slightly accelerated the growth rate of production in monetary terms compared to the same period last year: in seven months, the figure was 96.7%, and in six months – 95.7%.
In terms of volume, the production of toilet paper in rolls increased 1.5 times, exceeding 89 million units, which is still the third best result in the industry after Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill (165 million units) and Kokhava Paper Mill (90.4 million units).
VGP’s brand portfolio includes napkins, toilet paper, paper handkerchiefs, and kitchen towels under the Ruta, Ruta Selecta, Fesko, Nosovic, Polotenechko, 100% paper, Servetta, and Ecolo brands. The assortment includes more than 189 items.
As reported with reference to Ukrpapir’s data, in 2022, VGP JSC produced products worth UAH 977.61 million, which is 2.8% more than a year earlier. At the same time, according to the company’s report, in physical terms (tons), production decreased by 27% due to the loss of some markets with the beginning of Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine.
Exports accounted for more than a quarter of sales in 2022. The paper used as the basis for production was purchased mainly from producers in Turkey and Romania.
Insurance company ARX (Kiev) has introduced a new hull insurance program “Iron Dome”, covering damage or total loss of cars from missiles, drones and ammunition, debris of buildings, according to the press release of the insurer.
Under this program, cars up to 15 years old, costing up to UAH 5 million, are subject to insurance. Such risks as damage or total loss of the vehicle due to direct or indirect impact of any types of missiles and UAVs on the conditionally safe territory of Ukraine (according to the list of the Ministry of Reintegration in force on the date of the event), or damage from debris in case of hitting buildings are covered.
The deductible is 10% of the sum insured. The insurance terms are three and six months, as well as one year.
The insurance tariff depends on the insurance term: 3 months – 1%, 6 months – 1.5%, 1 year – 2%
At the same time, the program is a completely stand-alone product, which can be purchased without the main hull insurance in ARX or another insurance company. Review of the car (with photography and video fixation) can be done without visiting the office – online, through the mobile application MyARX.
ARX daily pays out to customers a total of about UAH 4.7 million on insured events.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, for six months of 2023 the company occupies the first positions in the Ukrainian market on all key indicators.
IC “ARX” has been working in the insurance market for 26 years. According to the company’s data, it is the leader of CASCO insurance for the 13th consecutive year. It took the first place among insurers of Ukraine on the size of net insurance premiums and net insurance indemnities for 2021. It is a part of the international insurance holding Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Canada).
State-owned Oschadbank quadrupled its net profit in January-August this year compared to the same period in 2022 – from UAH 2.3 billion to more than UAH 9.4 billion, including a net profit of UAH 1.2 billion in August.
“The final financial result was also affected by the revaluation of financial instruments in the securities portfolio: it added about UAH 1.5 billion to the total profit,” the press service of the financial institution told Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.
The state-owned bank notes an improvement in all key financial indicators. In particular, its net interest income increased by 39% to UAH 12.1 billion compared to the figures for 8 months of 2022, and net commission income by 30% to UAH 4.4 billion.
Operating profit amounted to UAH 7.8 billion, which is more than twice as much as in the same period last year.
In addition, as noted in the press service, Oschad has sufficient liquidity and capital at its disposal.
According to the information provided, the regulatory capital adequacy ratio of the financial institution as of September 1 this year amounted to 18.48%, while the established standard of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) is 10%.
At the same time, the bank has so far refrained from forecasting its financial results for this year.
According to the NBU, as of July 1, 2023, Oschadbank ranked 2nd in terms of assets (UAH 324.74 billion) among 64 banks operating in the country, and first in terms of the number of branches in the country (1183).
