Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

NORWEY’S SCATEC INCREASES EBITDA IN UKRAINE BY 34%

Norwey’s Scatec saw EBITDA of NOK 55 million ($1/NOK 8.8759) in Ukraine in the first half of 2021, which is 34.1% more than in the first half of 2020.
According to the company’s report on Friday, its revenue grew by 47.8%, to NOK 68 million, while net production increased by 75%, to 49 GWh, and OPEX increased 2.6 times, to NOK 13 million.
At the same time, negative cash flow to equity amounted to NOK 3 million versus positive NOK 15 million in the first half of last year.
Scatec said that in the second quarter of this year compared to the second quarter of last year, its EBITDA in Ukraine increased by 11.4%, to NOK 39 million, revenue rose by 26.3%, to NOK 48 million with an increase in net production was 54.5%, to 34 GWh, while OPEX tripled to NOK 9 million.
In the second quarter, the company managed to reach a positive free cash flow on equity of NOK 7 million, which, however, is more than twice less than in the second quarter of last year – NOK 16 million.
According to the report, the Rengy, Chigrin, Kamianka and Boguslav projects in Ukraine that failed to meet certain loan covenants on 31 March 2021 are compliant with all covenants on 30 June 2021. The non-current non-recourse debt of NOK 921 million in Ukraine which was classified as current on 31 March 2021 have been reclassified back to non-current in the statement of financial position on 30 June 2021
Scatec also said that the 148 MW Progressovka project and the 55 MW Chigirin project in Ukraine reached commercial operation in early July 2021. The Progressovka project has been a collaboration with PowerChina Guizhou Engineering Co. Ltd., who has provided construction financing and Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) services to the project. The Construction financing from PowerChina is classified as trade and other payables in statement of financial position, and amounts to NOK 671 million on 30 June 2021. The loan is due 1 June 2022 and Scatec is working on securing long term financing with a local or international bank group.
In general, in the first half of 2021, Scatec increased EBITDA by 93.3%, to NOK 1.363 billion with an increase in revenue by 2.2 times, to NOK1.892 billion and net production by 2.3 times, to 1,714 GWh.
As reported, the total capacity of solar generation facilities built by Scatec in three regions of Ukraine has reached 314 MW.
Scatec is headquartered in Oslo, Norway. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker SCATC. The largest shareholders are state-controlled Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil) with 13.08%, Scatec Innovation AS with 12.26% and the manager of state pension funds of Norway Folketrygdfondet with 8.97%.

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KSG AGRO INCREASES EBITDA BY 2.9 TIMES IN 2020

KSG Agro in 2020 cut its net profit by 68.8% compared to 2019, to $1.27 million, while increasing EBITDA by 2.9 times, to $6.02 million.
According to the audited report of the holding, published on Friday evening on the website of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, its revenue over the past year decreased 11%, to $21.34 million.
At the end of 2020, KSG Agro increased its gross profit 2.4 times, to $6.25 million, and operating profit 10.5 times, to $4.35 million.
The company said that the crop yield in 2020 increased by 5.2% compared to 2019 – up to 40,000 tonnes, while the wheat crop increased by a quarter, to 17,900 tonnes, rapeseed – 2.4 times, to 2,730 tonnes, sunflower harvest decreased by 9.7% – to 11,700 tonnes.
“The total area of agricultural land used by the group as at 31 December 2020 is 21,000 hectares, of which 10,000 hectares are currently under winter crops and are expected to yield a total of 23,60 tonnes of wheat, barley and rapeseed at harvest. The group manages to maintain crop farming revenue at comparable levels to pig breeding, but because crops are exposed to weather conditions, revenues from pig breeding are still considered by management to be more reliable and remain the key strategic focus,” KSG Agro said in the report.
According to the agricultural holding, its revenue from the livestock segment in 2020 decreased by 8% compared to 2019 reaching $10.3 million, while the food processing segment brought the company 22% less, and amounted to $8.4 million. The total marketable pig number of the company as of December 31, 2020 increased by 7.8% compared to December 31, 2019, to 41,416 heads.
“Current year harvest was comparable to the previous year, so the relative decrease in sales is mostly attributable to the general slowing down in business when the first coronavirus prevention measures were introduced, and people were beginning to adapt to the new reality. After that, demand for crops and pork, as well as other goods used to manufacture food products, returned to the previous levels,” the company said in the report.
According to the company, there had been no significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the group’s profitability position so far. The pandemic is not expected to have an immediate material impact on business operations.

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METINVEST INCREASES EBITDA BY 4 TIMES IN Q1

Consolidated revenue of Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group Metinvest, in January-March this year increased by 43% compared to the same period last year, to $3.624 billion.
According to the published preliminary unaudited consolidated results of the company’s financial statements, adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $1.462 million, which is 3.92 times higher than in the same period last year ($373 million). The margin was 40% (15% in Q1, 2020).
It is noted that Metinvest’s consolidated revenues rose by 43% which is driven primarily by higher selling prices of steel and iron ore products in line with global benchmarks. In addition, the Group increased sales volumes of flat products by 6% y-o-y, as a result of a recovery in demand in several strategic markets for the Group, as well as recently implemented investments.
Metinvest also boosted pellet shipments by 34% y-o-y, amid higher pellet premiums globally.
During the reporting period, revenues in Ukraine increased by 30% y-o-y, to $947 million. This was mainly due to higher average selling prices of steel and iron ore products, as well as higher sales volumes of iron ore products (up 17%) and coke (up 18%). The share of Ukraine in consolidated revenues edged down by 3 percentage points (p.p.) y-o-y, to 26%.
Sales to other markets increased by 48% y-o-y, to $2.677 million in the first quarter of 2021, accounting for 74% of total revenues. Sales to Europe surged by 54% y-o-y, primarily amid higher steel and iron ore selling prices. In addition, sales volumes of cast iron, flat products and pellets rose by 32%, 28% and 51%, respectively. As a result, the region’s share in overall revenues increased by 3 p.p. y-o-y, to 35%.
Revenues from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region rose by 48% y-o-y, mainly amid higher steel selling prices, as well as greater shipments of pig iron (up 29%), slabs (up 73%) and flat products (up 4%). The region’s share in consolidated revenues remained unchanged at 18%.
Sales to Southeast Asia increased by 9% y-o-y, amid higher iron ore selling prices despite practically no shipments of semi-finished and finished steel products to the region. Southeast Asia’s share in consolidated revenues declined by 2 p.p. y-o-y, to 8%.
Revenues from the CIS rose by 20% y-o-y, primarily as a result of higher selling prices for flat products. Meanwhile, the region’s share in consolidated revenues declined by 1 p.p. y-o-y, to 5%.
In the first quarter of this year, consolidated EBITDA was $1.462 billion, which is 3.9 times higher compared to the same period last year. This was primarily driven by an increase in the Mining segment’s contribution of $676 million and in the Metallurgical segment’s contribution of $494 million. In addition, corporate overheads decreased by $2 million, while eliminations increased by $83 million.
The increase in consolidated EBITDA was primarily attributable to higher average selling prices for steel and iron ore products, the effect of which on sales of Metinvest’s goods totaled $778 million. Higher prices also improved earnings from resales (up by $23 million) and the contribution of both joint ventures (up by $216 million).
In the first quarter of this year, the Group’s consolidated EBITDA margin increased by 25 p.p. y-o-y, to 40%. The Metallurgical segment’s EBITDA margin rose by 16 p.p. y-o-y, to 24%, while that of the Mining segment climbed by 38 p.p. y-o-y, to 75%.

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INTERPIPE SEES EBITDA FALL BY 53% IN Q 1

The international vertically integrated pipe and wheel company Interpipe in January-March of this year reduced its net profit by 90.4% compared to the same period last year, to $ 12.826 million from $ 133.064 million.
According to the company’s interim report on operating and financial results for the three months of 2021, in January-March 2021 revenue decreased by 19.9%, to $ 200.952 million.
According to the company’s press release, following the results of Q1, 2021, EBITDA decreased by 53%, to $ 40 million, the amount of capital investments increased by 58%, to $ 17 million.
Net debt was $ 53 million with a net leverage ratio (net debt to EBITDA) of 0.2x.
The press release notes that in the first quarter of 2021 Interpipe continued to operate in difficult market conditions, which affected its financial results. Total revenues decreased by 20%, mainly due to the deterioration in the performance of the railway division after the imposition by Russia of embargo on the import of Ukrainian railway products. Thus, the revenues of the railway products division fell by 53%, while sales volumes decreased by 32%.
As a result, EBITDA for the first quarter of 2021 decreased by 53%. An additional negative effect is associated with the continuing global growth in market prices for goods and metal products. At the same time, the selling prices for steel pipes and railway products lagged behind the rise in production costs.
At the same time, Interpipe increased its capital investment by investing $ 17 million in overhaul and production development.
As of March 31, 2021, the company’s total debt fell to $ 110 million following the full redemption of 2024 eurobonds on January 26, 2021, keeping the net leverage ratio (net debt to EBITDA) at a low 0.2x.

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METINVEST INCREASES EBITDA BY 33% IN FEBRUARY

The revenue of Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the Metinvest mining and metallurgical group, in February this year increased by 17.9%, or $ 185 million compared to the previous month, to $ 1.216 billion from $ 1.031 billion.
According to the published preliminary unaudited consolidated monthly results of the company’s financial statements, total EBITDA in February was $ 503 million, which is $ 125 million, or 33.1%, higher than in January ($ 378 million), while EBITDA from participation in joint venture amounted to $ 86 million (in January – $ 80 million).
According to the report, the adjusted EBITDA of the metallurgical division of the group for February 2021 amounted to “plus” $ 257 million (in January – “plus” $ 171 million), including $ 21 million from participation in joint venture ($ 13 million), while EBITDA of the mining division – $ 318 million ($ 234 million), including from joint venture – $ 65 million ($ 67 million). The management company spent $ 6 million ($ 7 million).
Total revenue in February consisted of $ 920 million ($ 789 million in January) from the metallurgical division, $ 426 million ($ 329 million) from the mining division, and $ 130 million from intra-group sales ($ 87 million).
The total debt of the company in February increased by $ 83 million compared to January, to $ 3.033 billion from $ 2.950 billion, while the volume of cash increased by $ 61 million, to $ 1.180 billion from $ 1.119 billion.
Funds used in investment activities amounted to $ 201 million, in financial activities – $ 90 million.
Metinvest in February received $ 58 million from the resale of square billets in the amount of 95,000 tonnes. In addition, $ 170 million was received from the resale of 258,000 tonnes of flat products, 47,000 tonnes of long rolled products brought $ 32 million, 89,000 tonnes of pig iron – $ 45 million
The main shareholders of Metinvest are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), jointly managing the company.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.

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AGROTON INCREASES ITS EBITDA BY 14.6 TIMES IN 2020

At the end of 2020, Agroton Agroholding (Luhansk region) increased its net profit by 2.3 times compared to 2019 – up to $11.76 million, and its EBITDA increased by 14.6 times – up to $33.04 million.
According to the company’s annual financial report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange website, its annual revenue increased by a quarter – to $67.55 million, gross profit -by 3.2 times, to $32.91 million, operating profit amounted to $26.69 million versus an operating loss of $4.30 million obtained in 2019.
The assets of Agroton last year increased by 5.1% – up to $120.34 million.

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