Ferrexpo Plc (the U.K.), which controls Poltava Mining and Yeristovo Mining in Ukraine, has increased the level of approved funding for its Humanitarian Fund to $7.5 million to provide further support to local communities close to the group’s operations, as well as broader support for communities throughout Ukraine.
According to a press release of the group on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Monday, following the announcement of the establishment of the fund on 7 March 2022, the Group has been made aware of further projects and initiatives to support the humanitarian relief effort within Ukraine and the group’s Board of Directors has moved to quickly increase the fund’s approved budget accordingly.
Examples of projects that sit within the fund’s activities include the group’s efforts to coordinate the supply and distribution of food packages, the sourcing of basic medical supplies for local hospitals and medical facilities and the provision of meals for local residents of communities surrounding to the group’s operations.
“The situation in Ukraine is rapidly evolving and the fund is intended help enable the group to react quickly to meet the increased needs of Ukraine and our workforce and their families at this difficult time,” the group said.
Ferrexpo Poltava Mining (FPM) and Ferrexpo Yeristovo Mining (FYM), which are the Ferrexpo Group’s subsidiaries, in January 2022, successfully passed a social responsibility audit as per the SMETA methodology, which was carried out by the Intertek international company.
The audit explored the extent of the employees’ social protection and ran across production subdivisions, support services and Administration. Collective and individual interviews were also held at all levels of key and support personnel and contractor workforce.
The approaches of the Companies’ management to the social security of their employees, free transportation to the workplace, high-quality medical care at the company-owned Medical Unit, health and life insurance were positively noted.
The social audit outcomes will be posted on the Sedex platform official website.
Inna Us, Head of Projects and Programmes – Lead Auditor on Social Responsibility and Management Systems of Intertek Ukraine:
“According to the audit data, it has been found that these companies are in compliance with the requirements of the conventions of the International Labor Organization and the SMETA program. The employer provides the conditions for safe work, working hours meet the requirements of Ukrainian Law and industry standards, there is no discrimination and the company is guided by the regulations that fully protect the employees’ rights.”
Yaroslavna Blonska, Head of Sales Europe – External Relations Officer Ferrexpo:
“For the first time, we passed the social responsibility audit using the SMETA methodology and received a high rating from the international company Intertek. The positive opinion of the auditors testifies not only to the high quality of production, but also to the worthy level of social responsibility of our companies. The results of the analysis once again confirmed that Ferrexpo has created the required conditions for safe operation, implements high technologies to reduce the adverse impact of its activities on the environment and is a reliable business partner both in Ukraine and in international markets.”
Audit reference:
Sedex Members EThical Audit is an audit that assesses a company’s compliance with established requirements in four main areas: occupational health and safety, environment, working conditions, and supplier’s goodwill.
The outcomes of the SMETA social responsibility audit are recognized in more than 160 countries of the world and are a weighty and undeniable argument in confirming the company’s compliance with the moral standards of its external and internal business processes.
Company reference:
Ferrexpo is a Swiss headquartered iron ore company with assets in Ukraine and a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange in the FTSE 250 index (ticker FXPO). The Group produces high grade iron ore pellets, which are a premium product for the global steel industry and enable reduced carbon emissions and increased productivity for steelmakers when the Group’s iron ore pellets are converted into steel, compared to more commonly traded forms of iron ore. Ferrexpo’s operations have been supplying the global steel industry for over 40 years and in 2021 the Group produced 11.2 million tonnes of iron ore pellets, placing Ferrexpo as the world’s 3 rd largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry with a market share of approximately 9%. The Group has a global customer base comprising of premium steel mills around the world, which includes steel mills in Austria, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Vietnam and America. For further information, please visit www.ferrexpo.com
Intertek reference:
Intertek is an industry leader with over 43,800 employees from 1,000 offices in over 100 countries. The company helps local and global businesses meet the quality, health, environment, safety and social responsibility standards of virtually every market worldwide. More information can be found at www.intertek.com.
Mining company Ferrexpo with assets in Ukraine has reshuffled its board of directors, changing the scope of responsibility and status of some of its members, the company said in a press release on Friday.
In respect of the role of Senior Independent Director, the Board has elected to appoint Independent Non-executive Director Fiona MacAulay into this role in place of Vitalii Lisovenko, who has completed two and half years in this position.
In turn, Lisovenko will remain as an Independent Nonexecutive Director of the Group, and maintains a strong presence in Ukraine for the Board.
In addition, Independent Non-executive Director Ann-Christin Andersen has been appointed as Chair of the Group’s Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) Committee, with this change effective as of today.
According to the press release, the Board announced the appointment of Natalie Polischuk as an additional Independent Non-executive Director, increasing the Group’s Independent Non-executive Directors to five. As part of the changes announced Friday, Polischuk has been appointed as a member of both the Audit Committee and HSEC Committee.
Chairman of the Board of Directors Lucio Genovese welcomed McAulay’s appointment as Ferrexpo’s Senior Independent Director amid an uncertain backdrop of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
“As part of the rotation of roles announced today, Ann-Christin Andersen is appointed to the role of Chair of HSEC Committee, which we feel is an excellent fit given Ann-Christin’s background in renewable energy, circular economy sectors and industrial digitalisation. Finally, we are pleased to confirm the appointment of Natalie Polischuk to the Audit and HSEC Committees, who brings a wealth of experience of the Ukrainian business environment,” Genovese said, quoted in the press release.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine.
Ferrexpo owns 100% of the shares of Poltava Mining, 100% of Yeristovo Mining and 99.9% of Belanovo Mining.
Ferrexpo mining group with assets in Ukraine has appointed Natalia Polischuk, a member of the advisory board of the Dobrobut network of private medical clinics in Ukraine, as independent non-executive director to the Group’s Board of Directors.
According to the company’s press release on Thursday, Polischuk is an economist based in Kyiv, Ukraine, with over 25 years of experience working in the finance sector in both Ukraine and more widely in Eastern Europe, with a number of senior roles at private equity funds in the region, as well as directorships.
Most recently, Polischuk spent seven years heading up the Ukraine office of Advent International, a global private equity firm, developing transactions for the firm’s $1 billion fund focused on Central and Eastern Europe.
Since 2018, Polischuk has served on the Advisory Board of Dobrobut (Ukraine), a private healthcare clinic network provider in Ukraine, and until 2020 she was also a board member and treasurer of Lycée Français Anne de Kyiv, a public co-educational international day school in Kyiv. In recent years, Polischuk has acted as an independent advisor on a number of M&A and due diligence projects in Ukraine.
Polischuk holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School, Boston, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv (Ukraine).
Chair of Ferrexpo Lucio Genovese pointed to Polischuk’s rich financial experience, as well as a strong understanding of the business landscape within Ukraine.
“Following the appointment of Polischuk, the Group’s Board will comprise eight directors, three of which are female, with this appointment also increasing the Group’s number of independent directors to five,” Genovese said.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine. According to the company’s presentation, as of October 31, 2020, Fevamotinico S.a.r.l., controlled by Kostiantyn Zhevaho, owns 50% of Ferrexpo, BlackRock holds 4%, Schroders – 4%, Acadian – 3% and M&G also 3%.
Ferrexpo owns 100% of shares in Poltava Mining, 100% in Yeristovo Mining and 99.9% in Belanovo Mining.
Ferrexpo’s enterprises (Poltava Mining, Yeristovo Mining and Belanovo Mining) in January-September 2021 transferred more than UAH 6.6 billion in taxes and fees to the budgets of different levels, which is 2.7 times more than in the same period in 2020, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The increase in payments occurred in all items, but the largest one was income tax,” Ferrexpo told Interfax-Ukraine.
At the end of January-September 2020, the company reported an increase in taxes and fees paid to more than $2.45 billion.
Ferrexpo said that Poltava Mining paid UAH 4.87 billion (a year earlier it was UAH 1.92 billion), Yeristovo Mining paid UAH 1.8 billion (UAH 0.51 billion) and Belanovo Mining paid UAH 0.03 billion (UAH 0.013 billion).
Taking into account the previously published data for 9M 2020 and excluding Belanovo Mining for 9M 2021, payments to local budgets grew by 19.3%, to UAH 333.6 million, to regional budgets by 2.6 times, to 784.1 UAH million, and to the state budget by 3.4 times, to UAH 5.22 billion. The social security contribution payments grew by 3.2%, to UAH 328.1 million.
Ferrexpo said that (excluding Belanovo Mining) income tax increased 4.7 times, to UAH 4.95 billion, environmental tax rose by 37.6%, to UAH 158.5 million, personal income tax grew by 5, 2%, to UAH 293.7 million, subsoil use royalties by 65.1%, to UAH 792.5 million.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine, which each owns 100% of Poltava Mining and Yeristovo Mining and 99.9% of Belanovo Mining.
Ferrexpo in January-September 2021 increased its total pellet production by 0.3% compared to the same period in 2020, to 8.158 million tonnes.
In the first half of 2021, the company increased its revenue by 74.3%, to $1.353 billion, and net profit by 2.7 times, to $661.43 million.
Ferrexpo completed second course of Fe_munity corporate women’s leadership platform for middle-level employees.
During the 4 months of training, 86 Ferrexpo employees upgraded skills in negotiating, conflict management, change management, financing, time management, reputation and constituencies.
The project architecture also includes increasing the level of self-confidence (“dismantling of glass ceilings”), the desire and ability to be materialized professionally, without losing control over the work/life balance.
The course was taught by top speakers and coaches, such as Vache Davtyan – founder and owner of Promkabel-Electric, PanElectro network, LeaderWay; Daniil Vakhovsky – Managing Partner of Havas PR Kyiv; Olena Yuzkova – General Director, Era of International Education; Ivetta Delikatna and Olena Lobova – partners of the Old School training project; Dina Nemyrivchi – head of SalesCapital AG Ukraine; Marina Romanenko – practicing psychologist, certified international coach, founder of the Academy of Professional Parents.
Dmitriy Spatar, FPM First Deputy Chairman of the Board, Ambassador for Gender Issues at Ferrexpo:
“Fe_Munity Ferrexpo was opened in 2020 and we continue to pursue our Company goals of achieving gender balance. To date, more than 160 of our employees have gained knowledge, inspiration and motivation for their personal and professional development. We celebrate the unequivocal success of our initiative and this is confirmed by the achievements of our graduates. In 2022, Ferrexpo plans to expand the scope of our educational platform for women throughout Ukraine. In our country there are many talented women who work in various fields, and with proper support – this is a powerful force for the development of Ukraine’s economy.”
Iryna Rubis, co-author of the concept and curator of Fe_munity, co-founder of Biasless
“For the second time, Fe_Munity is ending with the writing of a final project with very clear and measurable KPIs. And the public defense of these works showed us that the graduates started thinking higher and wider, and the transformation took place not only professionally but also personally. The effect of raising at least 10 potential gender equality activists in the company and the town was unexpected. We also managed to introduce the participants of the project to educational thirst: the vast majority of graduates decided to join the educational Ferrexpo School of Inclusion project, which will start soon.”
Information about the company:
Ferrexpo – Swiss iron ore company with assets in Ukraine. The main activity of the company is the production and export of high-quality iron ore pellets used in steel production. Ferrexpo is the largest producer and exporter of pellets among the countries of the post-USSR states. Current production assets are FPM and FYM. Ferrexpo plc owns 100% of the shares of Ferrexpo AG, which, in turn, owns 100% of FPM shares and 100% of FYM shares. In 2020, the company produced 11.2 million tons of iron ore pellets. Steel enterprises from Austria, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Vietnam and the USA became the main consumers of the products. Ferrexpo is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Board under the FXPO ticker. More information can be found on the website www.ferrexpo.com.
