Agro-industrial holding Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, wants to keep EUR 61.84 million in net profit for the financial year 2017 undistributed. This decision is on the agenda of a meeting of the holding’s shareholders scheduled for May 25.
In addition, the shareholders will consider the re-appointment of Viktor Ivanchyk, Viktor Hladky and Marc Van Campen as board members, along with the appointment of Gilles Mettetal as non-executive director and resignation of Vladyslav Bartoshevsky as non-executive director and deputy chairman of the board of directors.
Another issue on the agenda is the appointment of Zeljko Erceg as Chief Operating Officer of Astarta Kyiv LLC. He will temporarily head the company in case the entire board is temporarily unable to perform duties.
In addition, the shareholders may decide on the prolongation of the buyback program for another 18 months (from the date of the shareholders’ meeting). The company can buy out no more than 2.5 million shares at a price not higher than PLN125 per share.
The agenda also includes the issue of authorizing the board of directors to organize the issue of shares to the amount of up to 10% of current issued and paid-in share capital, as well as the restriction or cancellation of any existing pre-emption rights in shares. All actions are carried out within one year, starting from the date of the annual meeting of shareholders whose permission cannot be withdrawn.
Astarta agroindustrial holding, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, has started working in the fields and applied fertilizers to 40% of fields with winter crops.
The holding said in a press release that wheat, sugar beets, corn and soybeans remain the main crops in crop rotation.
In general, the company has around 54,000 ha with winter crops. The crops are in a good state.
“Areas planted with sugar beet will be at the level of last year, areas with corn and sunflower would be expanded,” the press service said.
The company also plans to stir up operations of subsidiary Astarta-Selection in 2018. The company’s core business is production of wheat and soybeans for seeds, field research, seed and soil laboratories.
In the course of preparation for the upcoming season, scheduled repairs of equipment and premises, step-by-step execution of investment projects are being carried out at the sugar refineries of Astarta. Large investment in this segment is aimed at building a new warehouse for bulk storage of sugar (Narkevychi sugar factory), creating a system of water treatment plants (between the Holbyne sugar refinery, the bioenergy complex and the Holbyne soybean processing plant) and installing new pulp presses.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in Poltava, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Cherkasy and Kharkiv regions.
