Agricultural holding company Astarta reported a net loss of EUR14.07 million in the first half of 2026, compared to a net profit of EUR42.27 million for the same period last year, according to a report filed by the company with the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Thursday.
According to the report, while all segments generated net profit in January–June of last year, each segment recorded a loss this year: in sugar production, a loss of EUR3.83 million replaced a profit of EUR8.35 million; in crop production, a profit of EUR20.07 million turned into a loss of EUR3.76 million; in cattle farming, a loss of EUR2.41 million was recorded instead of a profit of EUR10.68 million; and in soybean processing, a loss of EUR2.27 million was recorded instead of a profit of EUR5.84 million.
Crop production and soybean processing reported operating profits, while sugar production and livestock farming posted operating losses. Furthermore, livestock farming also reported a gross loss.
According to the report, Astarta’s consolidated revenue for the first half of the year decreased by only 0.1% to EUR 226.47 million, with export sales accounting for 62% compared to 61% in the first half of last year.
The agriculture sector led the way, with sales growing by 27% to EUR78 million, or 34% of total revenue. In sugar production, sales fell by 10% to EUR72 million, or 32% of total revenue; in soybean processing, by 7% to EUR51 million; and in livestock farming, by 15% to EUR25 million.
Gross profit for January–June of this year fell by half—to EUR46.01 million—as the cost of goods sold rose by 10% compared to the same period last year, and the estimated value of crops and livestock was reduced due to falling agricultural prices and rising costs.
Consolidated EBITDA fell 2.4-fold compared to the same period last year, to EUR34.32 million.
It is noted that net investments decreased by 41% to EUR27 million following the completion of investments in a protein concentrate production plant and ongoing planned capital expenditures in other segments.
According to the report, in the first half of 2026, net financial debt (excluding lease obligations) amounted to EUR81 million, compared to EUR28 million in the first half of 2025. Total net debt (including leases) increased by 44% to EUR220 million.
“Astarta” is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine and is the largest sugar producer in Ukraine. It comprises six sugar plants, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares, dairy farms with 22,000 head of cattle, an oil extraction plant in Hlobine (Poltava Oblast), seven grain elevators, and a biogas complex.
Astarta’s net profit for 2025 fell 4.2 times—to $19.94 million—while consolidated revenue decreased by 23%—to $472 million.
As of July 2026, sole proprietors registered in Kyiv owed the state 2.61 billion UAH in taxes, the highest figure among Ukraine’s regions, according to data from the State Tax Service analyzed by Opendatabot.
The capital accounts for about 16% of the country’s total tax arrears owed by sole proprietors, which amount to 16.6 billion hryvnias.
In second place is the Odesa region, with entrepreneurs owing about 1.6 billion hryvnias; in third place is the Kyiv region, with 1.37 billion hryvnias.
Collectively, Kyiv, Odesa, and Kyiv regions account for approximately one-third of all tax debts owed by Ukrainian sole proprietors.
At the same time, Kyiv region leads in the number of debtors, with 182,640 sole proprietors owing tax debt. Over the past year, their number has increased by approximately 1.5 times.
The Odesa Oblast has 119,470 individual entrepreneurs in debt, while the Kharkiv Oblast has 101,500.
In total, approximately 1.5 million individual entrepreneurs in Ukraine owe taxes, amounting to a total of 16.6 billion hryvnias.
Source: Opendatabot, data from the State Tax Service of Ukraine as of July 2026.
Restricting access to information about the tax debts of specific sole proprietors deprives Ukrainian businesses of one of the tools they use to vet potential business partners, according to Opendatabot CEO Alexei Ivanikin.
According to the service’s data, as of July 2026, approximately 1.5 million sole proprietors have tax debts, and the total amount of debt reaches 16.6 billion UAH.
However, since the start of the full-scale war, the State Tax Service has not published a public list of specific entrepreneurs in debt, even though data from the Unified State Register and general statistics on tax arrears remain publicly available.
“It is difficult to explain this restriction on security grounds: information about an individual entrepreneur’s tax debt does not contain any defense-related or strategically important details,” Ivanikin stated.
In his view, transparency of information has direct economic significance.
“When information about tax debt is public, entrepreneurs have an additional incentive to pay it off, as it affects their reputation and the choice of business partners. Since the start of the war, businesses have lost one of the tools for vetting counterparties and cannot see whether a potential partner is paying taxes,” noted the CEO of Opendatabot.
The number of entrepreneurs with tax arrears has increased approximately 2.3-fold since the start of the full-scale invasion—by 840,000 people—and the total amount of arrears has risen by 9.6 billion hryvnia.
In Ukraine, 1.5 million sole proprietors have tax debt, the total amount of which reached 16.6 billion UAH as of July 2026, according to data from the State Tax Service published by Opendatabot.
Since the beginning of 2026, the number of individual entrepreneurs with tax debt has increased by approximately 3%, while the total amount of debt has decreased by 300 million UAH.
On average, each individual entrepreneur with tax debt owes the state about 11,000 UAH in unpaid taxes.
In recent years, the number of entrepreneurs with tax debts has been growing by an average of about 16% annually.
Since the start of the full-scale war, the number of individual entrepreneurs in debt has more than doubled—by approximately 840,000 people—and the total amount of debt has increased by 9.6 billion hryvnias.
Thus, while at the start of the full-scale invasion, approximately 660,000 entrepreneurs had tax debts totaling about 7 billion UAH, by mid-2026 both figures had more than doubled.
Source: Opendatabot, based on data from the State Tax Service of Ukraine.
Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands), the parent company of the Metinvest mining and metallurgical group, reduced its debt to $1.027 billion as of June 30, 2026, down from $2.242 billion at the end of 2021.
According to Metinvest B.V.’s annual report, released on Monday, Metinvest made significant progress in reducing its debt burden during the reporting period. As a result, total debt as of December 31, 2025, stood at $1.441 billion, a 15% decrease compared to the previous year. At the same time, the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio rose to 1.4x, an increase of 0.4x compared to the previous year.
It is noted that bonds listed on the Euronext Dublin stock exchange continued to constitute the bulk of the group’s capital structure—representing 88% of the debt portfolio, compared to 85% as of December 31, 2024.
Metinvest continued to actively manage its debt obligations. In the first half of 2025, the issued Senior Notes totaling EUR300 million were fully repaid upon maturity. As a result, the total amount of debt repaid since the beginning of 2022 reached $801 million.
In addition, it is noted that the overall reduction in debt during this period was driven by the full and timely repayment of senior bonds (two series); liability management measures, including cash tender offers and private repurchases; scheduled repayment of bank loans; a reduction in reliance on short-term trade finance; and the optimization of lease assets. These results were achieved despite the war and the loss of operational control over certain Ukrainian assets.
In parallel with measures to reduce its debt burden, Metinvest continued to secure targeted financing to support its operations and investment priorities. Specifically, in July 2025, a 11.5-year buyer’s credit facility in the amount of EUR23.6 million was secured for Northern GOK to finance the purchase of equipment for a project to thicken tailings. This credit line, guaranteed by the Finnish export credit agency Finnvera, marked Metinvest’s first instance of securing long-term financing for capital expenditures in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.
In addition, in April 2026, the group successfully completed the redemption of bonds maturing in 2026, marking another important milestone amid the ongoing war. To date, Metinvest has fully repaid three separate bond series, with total payments on these instruments exceeding $1 billion. These results were achieved despite the challenges of full-scale war, the loss of control over certain Ukrainian assets, and ongoing operational difficulties. At the same time, no debt has been restructured since the start of the war. According to pro forma figures, taking into account the redemption of the 2026 bonds, the group’s net debt-to-EBITDA ratio was less than 1x, the report notes.
As previously reported, Metinvest’s EBITDA in 2025 decreased by 24.2% compared to 2024—to $765 million from $1.009 billion. The year ended with a net loss of $191 million, compared to a net loss of $1.152 billion in 2024. Revenue decreased by 6% to $7.242 billion. At the same time, revenue from the mining segment fell by 25% year-over-year to $2.135 billion due to the absence of coking coal concentrate sales and a decline in iron ore product sales (by 11%). The segment’s contribution to total revenue was 29% (a decrease of 8 percentage points year-over-year).
In 2025, revenue from the metallurgical segment increased by 6% year-over-year to $5.107 billion, primarily due to growth in sales of finished products, semi-finished products (up 4% and 7%, respectively), and other products and services (up 40%). Meanwhile, coke sales fell by 20% year-over-year. This segment accounted for 71% of total revenue in the reporting period (an increase of 8 percentage points year-over-year).
For the year, the group posted an operating profit of $319 million, compared to an operating loss of $858 million in 2024.
At the time, Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov noted in his comments that the full-scale war continues to test both the nation and the group, which remains steadfast.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its facilities are located in Ukraine—in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions—as well as in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The holding company’s main shareholders are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest Group.
On July 4, the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence — the key document that began the formation of the American state. The central events are taking place in Washington, where the anniversary is combined with the traditional Independence Day and the federal America250/Freedom 250 program.
The National Mall in Washington has become the main venue for the celebration. Under the Freedom 250 program, the day will feature the Great American State Fair, FIFA Fan Zone, aviation demonstrations and flyovers above the center of the capital, an evening concert program, an address by US President Donald Trump, and a major fireworks display. Organizers said the fireworks show is expected to be the largest in history and begin at 10:30 p.m. local time.
The anniversary is not taking place without adjustments. Because of extreme heat in Washington, organizers moved some activities to a later time, expanded cooling points, water stations, and medical support. The National Independence Day Parade, which was supposed to take place on July 4, was canceled because of an excessive heat warning.
Events are also taking place in other US cities. Associated Press notes that the celebration includes fireworks, concerts, and public ceremonies in Washington, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other cities, while the anniversary is taking place against the backdrop of political polarization and debates about the country’s future.
“The 250th anniversary of the United States is not only a historic date, but also an occasion to assess the balance of strength and vulnerability of the world’s largest economy. America retains first place in nominal GDP, military spending, the depth of its financial market, the role of the dollar, and its energy base, but at the same time enters the anniversary year with debt of almost $39.4 trillion. For the global economy, this means that the United States remains the main center of power, but its fiscal sustainability is becoming one of the key risks of the next decade,” said Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club analytical center.
Historically, Independence Day is associated with the decision of the 13 American colonies to sever political ties with Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Formal international legal recognition of US independence by Great Britain came later — under the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the War of Independence.
Today, the United States remains a federal presidential republic consisting of 50 states and the federal District of Columbia. The country’s population, according to the IMF estimate, is about 343 million people, while nominal GDP in 2026 is estimated at approximately $32.38 trillion, preserving the United States’ status as the world’s largest economy at current prices.
The United States also retains several leading global positions. According to SIPRI, the country remains the world’s largest military spender: in 2025, US spending amounted to $954 billion, or about one-third of global military expenditure. According to the EIA, the United States set a new oil production record in 2025 — 13.6 million barrels per day — remaining the world’s largest oil producer. The US dollar, according to IMF COFER, accounted for 57.13% of allocated global foreign exchange reserves in the first quarter of 2026, remaining the world’s leading reserve currency.
The American financial market also remains the largest center of global capital. According to the World Federation of Exchanges, the two largest US exchanges alone — Nasdaq and NYSE — each had tens of trillions of dollars in domestic market capitalization at the end of 2025, significantly ahead of most global exchanges.
The main weak point of the United States in the anniversary year is the national debt. According to the US Treasury, as of July 2, 2026, total federal debt stood at $39.375 trillion, of which $31.679 trillion was debt held by the public.
The US Congressional Budget Office forecasts that the federal deficit in fiscal year 2026 will amount to $1.9 trillion, or 5.8% of GDP. Debt held by the public, according to the CBO estimate, will reach 101% of GDP by the end of 2026 and rise to 120% of GDP by 2036.
Thus, the United States enters its 250th anniversary as a country with a unique combination of global leadership and internal imbalances. The American economy remains the largest in the world, the dollar is the key currency of the international system, and the capital market is the main source of liquidity. But the scale of the debt and chronic budget deficits are increasingly becoming factors that investors, US allies, and competitors take into account no less than the country’s technological, military, and financial power.
