Large Ukrainian producer of sanitary-hygienic paper products TM “Ruta”, the managing company of which is JSC “VGP” (Lutsk), in January-July 2023 produced goods for UAH 950.34 mln, which is 96.7% more than in the same period of 2022.
According to the statistical data of the association “UkrPapir”, provided to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine”, thus, the company still slightly accelerated the rate of growth of production volumes in monetary terms to the same period last year: for six months this indicator was 95.7%, for five months – 88.5%.
In physical terms, in particular, the production of toilet paper in rolls grew by 42% to 77.55 mln pieces, which is still the third result in the industry after Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill (142.71 mln pieces) and Kokhava Paper Mill (78.94 mln pieces), the gap with which is minimal.
VGP’s brand portfolio includes napkins, toilet paper, paper handkerchiefs, kitchen towels under Ruta, Ruta Selecta, Fesko, Nosovichok, Toweliecho, 100% paper, Servetta, Ecolo. The assortment has more than 189 items.
As reported with reference to the data of “UkrPapir”, in 2022 JSC “VGP” produced products for 977.61 million UAH – 2.8% more than a year earlier. At the same time, according to the company’s report, in physical terms (in tons) the production volume decreased by 27% due to the loss of part of the sales markets in Ukraine with the beginning of the military aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
Net profit decreased to UAH 3.62 mln compared to UAH 96.43 mln a year earlier, while net income grew 14% to UAH 1 bln 075 mln.
More than a quarter of sales volume was exported in 2022. The products are represented on the markets of Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Georgia, Denmark, Poland, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and the Baltic States.
The base paper for the production of products was purchased mainly from manufacturers in Turkey and Romania.
The owner of 100% of shares of VGP JSC is Tissico Limited (Cyprus), the beneficiaries, according to the state register, are Ilya Miretsky, the company’s general director, and Kamil Gotza, a Czech citizen.
Agroholding “Kernel”, one of the largest in Ukraine, with a record yield completes harvesting of early grain crops, under which 70 thousand hectares are allocated, the press service of the agroholding reported.
“This year’s winter wheat yield, depending on the region of the cluster location, was from 5.8 to 7.3 tons/ha. The weighted average yield is almost 70% higher than last year’s figure,” the agroholding said on Facebook.
According to “Kernel”, on the post-harvest areas are implemented programs of biologization of farming. To support biodiversity and improve soil fertility, cover crops have already been sown on 22 thousand hectares.
It is noted that agronomic divisions of the agroholding continue to test and research the effectiveness of using different mixtures of cover crops to assess their impact on physical and chemical characteristics, microbiological activity of soil and phytosanitary condition of fields.
Before the war, Kernel Agro Holding ranked first in the world in sunflower oil production (about 7% of world production) and exports (about 12%). It is one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. In addition, it is engaged in growing agricultural products and their realization.
The largest co-owner of Kernel through Namsen Ltd. – is Ukrainian businessman Andriy Verevsky, who this year increased his stake from 41.3% to 74.05% as part of the buyout and delisting of the agroholding from the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Kernel’s net profit for the first nine months of FY 2023 (July-2022-March 2023) rose 36% to $437 mln, while revenue fell 45% to $2.715 bln.
The joint-stock company Ukrainian Defense Industry (UDI) has saved almost UAH 50 million when jointly purchasing electricity in the Prozorro system for about 60 of its enterprises from the state-owned energy trader Energy Company of Ukraine JSC (EKU JSC).
According to a Ukroboronprom press release on Thursday, the total amount of the purchase exceeds UAH 1 billion.
“Six leading domestic electricity suppliers – both state-owned and private – took part in the auction, which was held in three lots. The competitive struggle continued until the last step of the auction. The winner was the state energy trader JSC “EKU”, – stated in the document.
As noted in “Ukroboronprom”, it is the centralized purchase of electricity, which did not take place, for example, in 2022, allows for significant savings.
“We are changing the procurement system of Ukroboronprom.” Savings are very important for us, because they can be directed to the development of the production potential of enterprises”, – said the Director General of “Ukrainian defense industry” German Smetanin.
In turn, as noted by Vitaliy Butenko, General Director of JSC “EKU”, whose words are quoted in the press release, the victory at such an important auction confirms the competitiveness of the state not only in the production of electricity, but also in the segment of energy trading.
“The intensification of competition due to the entry of the state energy trader into the market gives a win-win result. On the one hand – a significant reduction of state-owned companies’ expenditures on electricity procurement. On the other hand – an increase in the state’s revenues from trading in those segments of the energy market where it was almost absent before,” he added.
The state-owned energy trading company JSC Energy Company of Ukraine (JSC EKU) operates in the domestic and foreign energy markets. A modern trading platform is being created on the basis of JSC EKU, which will allow the state to become an efficient and competitive player in the energy markets of Ukraine, Europe and, in the future, in the global energy markets.
The government and PJSC “Ukrainian Financial Housing Company” (Ukrfinjitlo) have significantly increased the financing of the program “eOsela”, thanks to which the monthly issuance of loans will increase from 0.7-0.8 billion UAH to 2 billion UAH, and a minimum of 10 thousand families will be able to get a preferential mortgage by the end of the year.
“We have seen how great demand for this program is among people. They want to build their lives in Ukraine despite the war. Therefore, the government with Ukrfinzhytl found opportunities and attracted additional funds for the program – both on the open financial market and credit,” the Economy Ministry release on Wednesday quoted First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko as saying.
The release specifies that “those who were rejected for lack of financing can reapply to Dia.”
As reported, from January to the end of May, due to lack of funds, the implementation of the program “eOsela” was suspended.
“There are funds to finance 10 thousand families until the end of this year. This is about 11.9 billion UAH, as envisaged by the financial plan. Of these already for 2.8 billion UAH issued affordable mortgages from the beginning of 2023”, – specified to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine” in the press service of Ukrfinzhitlo.
As reported, the program of affordable mortgage lending “єOselia” has worked in Ukraine since October 2022. On a preferential mortgage at 3% per annum for up to 20 years with a down payment of 20% of the cost of housing can qualify for contract servicemen of the AFU, security and defense sector workers, medical workers, teachers, researchers. Since its launch in 2022, partner banks have already issued more than UAH 3.4 billion in loans to more than 2.4 thousand participants.
Since August 1, to apply for participation in the program “єOsela” at 7% can be war veterans, combatants, IDPs and citizens who do not have their own housing more than the standard area.
Chairman of the Board of Ukrfinzhitlo Eugene Metzger emphasized that for a mortgage at 7% borrowers can choose an apartment in a house not older than three years at the time of the contract, or under construction. “We focus specifically on the primary real estate market. It is important that “eOselia” can give the economy a positive multiplier effect, and this is possible only thanks to the push of construction”, – says Eugene Metzger.
Six partner banks take part in the program “eOselia”: Oschadbank, Privatbank, Ukrgasbank, Globus Bank, Sky Bank and Ukreximbank. You can apply for participation in the program in the mobile application “Diya”.
At the end of 2022, the government additional capitalized Ukrfinzhytlo by UAH 30 billion through the issue of internal state loan bonds (ISLBs). According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko, such financing is enough to issue 12-15 thousand mortgage loans in 2023.
At the end of April, the Ministry of Economy, as the single shareholder of Ukrfinzhytlo, approved repo operations with these government bonds for up to a year in the amount of UAH 15 billion. Later it was reported that the rate on these transactions could be up to 20% per annum, while the government bonds themselves were issued for up to 5 years at 19.5% per annum.
In addition, on August 3, Ukrfinzhytlo’s supervisory board approved an increase in PrivatBank’s loan secured by the company’s government bonds to UAH 1.5bn.
Agroliga Group (Kharkiv Oblast) has generated EUR1.00m of consolidated net profit in January-June 2023, up 24.6% year-on-year.
According to the company’s report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, its revenue for the first half of the year decreased by 9.4% to EUR24.61 mln.
Due to a smaller increase in the cost of sales, gross profit fell by only 0.7% to EUR3.30m, but distribution costs, which rose by a third to EUR1.54m, led to a 30.0% drop in operating profit to EUR1.44m.
Agroholding notes that its free cash flow at the end of the first half of the year fell to EUR0.20m from EUR2.54m due to a reduction in debt at the end of 2022, while investments fell fivefold year-on-year to EUR0.22m in the reporting period.
The main shareholders of the group are Alexander Berdnik and Irina Poplavskaya with 41.66% stakes each, while another 16.68% of shares are in free float.
As reported, Agroliga Group reported a EUR2.21m net loss in 2022, down from a EUR8.13m net profit a year earlier, due to Russian full-scale aggression. Its revenue rose 18.9% to EUR47.46m.
In its annual report, the agroholding said it operates about 8,000 hectares of land, pressed oil plants with an annual capacity of 42,000 tons, and an oil extraction plant with an annual processing capacity of 100,000 to 180,000 tons of sunflower seeds, which can also produce soybean and rapeseed oil. In addition, the group has completed the construction of energy facilities that operate on a green tariff and ensure waste-free production.
The company employs 332 people as of August 15.
As reported, Agroliga Group earned EUR0.77m in net profit in January-March 2023, up 70.5% year-on-year in January-March 2022. Its revenue for the first quarter increased by 32.4% to EUR12.91m.
The Ukrainian squash community is preparing for the biggest event of the year. On August 19-20, 2023, the charity squash tournament Zenit Ukraine Open 2023 will take place at the SPORT LIFE fitness center in Kyiv, 8 Samaila Kishky Street. The competition will last two days and will start at 09.00 on August 19.
This tournament is the most famous and largest international squash competition in the history of independent Ukraine. Its scale is evidenced not only by the number of participants and countries represented, but also by the large number of organizations that have joined the preparation and holding of the tournament.
The competition will be held in six categories: for men, these are categories A, B, C, D, and for women, A and B. Among the tournament participants are players from France, the United States, Moldova, Turkey and many Ukrainian cities: Kyiv, Lviv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava, and Odesa.
The events will culminate in an award ceremony to be held on August 20 at 17.00 at the BRUGGE restaurant.
“Squash is actively gaining popularity in Ukraine even in this difficult time. And this is primarily the merit of our youth. Last year, 6 of our juniors entered the top 10 world squash rankings. This is an indicator that we are moving in the right direction. Such tournaments as the Zenit Ukraine Open only contribute to the popularization and development of this sport in Ukraine,” said Maxim Urakin, co-organizer of the tournament.
This approach is also supported by the President of the Ukrainian Squash Federation Dmytro Shcherbakov.
“The development of youth and junior squash is our future. But besides this, we have to take care of our present. The organization of such events demonstrates that despite all the hardships, Ukrainian sport, and squash in particular, continues to develop,” said Dmytro Shcherbakov.
Organizational support for the tournament is provided by:
The main fitness partner is the national network of fitness clubs “Sport Life”;
The main organizer is the NGO Squash Federation of Ukraine;
The main media partner is Interfax Ukraine;
The official sponsor of the tournament is Experts Club.
Participants and winners will receive a number of gifts from Sport Life, REIMA, and special partners: ADONIS, UKRSADVINPROM, KRAINA, VILLA TINTA, TERMOPUB, FAVOR Hotel, Tecnifibre and BRUGGE Restaurant.
The tournament will be held with a charitable mission to help the Armed Forces.
All supporters and fans of squash are invited to this great sporting event. We hope to see you at the championship and support our athletes together!
DMITRY_SHCHERBAKOV, SPORT, SQUASH, TOURNAMENT, ZENIT_UKRAINE_OPEN
