Agricultural holding Kernel, one of the largest in Ukraine, in the second quarter of fiscal year 2021 (FY, began in July 2020) saw $170.64 million in net profit, a rise of 3.8-fold year-over-year.
According to the company’s report posted on Friday, its revenue in October-December 2020 grew by 28.5%, to $1.327 billion.
The company said that in H1 FY2021 its net profit amounted to $404.02 million, and revenue reached $2.267 billion, a rise of 3.9-fold and 20.4% year-over-year respectively.
Kernel said that EBITDA in Q2 FY2021 increased 2.5-fold, to $269 million, and in H1 FY2021 – 2.6-fold, to $559 million.
The company said in the report that a grain price boom and oilseeds price hikes created an opportunity momentum for trading business.
Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agrarian holdings, in the second quarter of 2021 fiscal year (FY), which started in July 2020, increased sales of sunflower oil by 23% compared to the same period of the previous FY, to 425,340 tonnes.
According to a report published on the website on Thursday, sales of bottled sunflower oil for the period amounted to 9.1% of total sales (in the same period previous FY it was 8.4%).
In October-December this year, the holding’s oil extraction plants processed 1 million tonnes of oilseeds, up 5% from the second quarter of 2020 FY. The company said that this is a record high indicator for the quarter.
The report said that grain exports from Ukraine in the first quarter of 2021 FY increased by 6%, to 2.4 million tonnes, of which 52% from external suppliers, the rest was produced by the company’s agricultural divisions.
Grain transshipment at export terminals in Ukraine in the specified period increased by 41%, to 2.38 million tonnes. As the company said, this is due to the increase in transshipment volumes at the new Kernel export terminal in Chornomorsk seaport. The volume of grain received by the company’s elevators increased by 17%, to 2.38 million tonnes, but in general for the first half of the year it decreased by 9%, to 3.63 million tonnes due to a decrease in the harvest this season.
In general, in the first half of 2021 FY, the company increased oilseed processing by 5%, to 1.66 million tonnes, oil exports by 11%, to 721,580 tonnes, grain transshipment at export terminals by 47%, to 4.25 million tonnes and grain exports by 16%, to 4.52 million tonnes.
Kernel ended 2020 fiscal year (FY, July 2019-June 2020) with net income of $123 million, less by 31% compared to 2019 FY. Its revenue grew by 4%, to $4.11 billion, and EBITDA by 28%, to $443 million. The company’s net debt in 2020 FY grew by 41%, to $980 million.
Kernel is a producer and exporter of sunflower oil. It operates in such business segments as production, export and domestic sales of sunflower oil, crop production, export of grain crops, provision of services for storage and transshipment of grain at elevators and in port terminals.
The shareholders in Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agrarian groups, at the annual general meeting held on December 10 approved a dividend of $0.42 per share for FY 2020 (July-2019 – June-2020).
According to the company’s statement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the general meeting delegated to the Board of Directors to set up record and payment dates to distribute the dividends.
Kernel’s share price at the close on Friday, November 11, was PLN 45.05 per share, up from PLN 39.35 when the plan to pay the dividend was announced on November 9. The total number of shares in circulation is 84.031 million. According to the annual report of the holding company of the Kernel Holding SA group, Kernel’s Board of Directors will offer to shareholders to approve the payment of a dividend of $0.25 per share.
In FY 2019, Kernel paid a dividend of $0.25 per share on April 30, 2020.
Kernel is a producer and exporter of sunflower oil.
The annual general meeting of shareholders of Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agrarian groups, at a meeting on December 10, plans to approve the payment of dividends for the 2020 financial year (FY, July-2019 – June-2020) in the amount of $0.42 per share.
This is stated in the draft decisions of the general meeting at the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Monday.
In addition, the shareholders plan to agree at the meeting to reappoint the Luxembourg Deloitte Audit as an independent auditor of Kernel.
Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agrarian groups, in the first quarter of 2021 fiscal year (FY), which began in July 2020, reduced sales of sunflower oil by 2% compared to the same period last FY, to 296,240 tonnes.
According to a report on the website of the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Monday, bottled sunflower oil sales in the specified period constituted 11.5% of total sales (in the same period last FY – 8.4%).
In July-September of this year, the holding’s oil extraction plants processed 662,610 tonnes of oilseeds, which is 5% more than in the first quarter of FY2020. The company said that this is – the largest ever volume in the first quarter of the financial year.
According to the report, the volume of grain exports from Ukraine in the first quarter of FY2021 increased by 31%, to 2.13 million tonnes, of which 1.9 million tonnes originated from external suppliers, and the remaining volumes being produced by company’s farming division.
Export terminals throughput volume in Ukraine increased by 56%, to 1.87 million tonnes. As explained in the company, this was driven by incremental transshipment volume on Company’s new grain export terminal in the port of Chornomorsk. The company’s silo in-take volume decreased by 36%, to 1.25 million tonnes, reflecting a crop size reduction in company’s farming business and a delayed harvesting campaign this season.
As of October 25, 2019, Kernel has threshed 43.7% corn, 98% sunflower and 100% wheat.
The agricultural holding intends to harvest corn from 254,800 hectares (10% more than a year earlier), sunflower from 148,200 hectares (9% more), wheat from 72,300 hectares (26% less), and other crops from 23,100 hectares (52% less). The company has a total of 498,400 tonnes of crop acreage, which is 3% less than in FY2020, the agricultural holding said.
Ukrainian agricultural holding Kernel, which announced about a buyout of 2022 eurobonds for up to $350 million on October 5, received applications for a total sum of $285.89 million by the term of early deadline and decided to satisfy all of them, according to the company’s report on the exchange on Tuesday, October 20.
These debut eurobonds of the agricultural holding were issued in January 2017 for five years for $500 million at 8.875% with a coupon of 8.75%. The purchase price was set at 105.625%.
At the same time, Kernel announced issuing eurobonds in the amount of approximately $300-350 million for a period of five or seven years. The organizers of the issue are JPMorgan, Credit Agricole и Natixis.
“The purpose of the tender offer is to proactively manage and lengthen the structure of the group’s debt by maturity by refinancing part of the bonds with new bonds with a longer maturity,” the report says.
The company confirmed that the early settlement is October 29. The deadline for accepting applications for exchange is November 2, however, after the early deadline, the settlement price is 102.625%. The final settlement date is November 5.
The redeemable Kernel eurobonds at the end of the day on October 19 were quoted at the rate of 105.544% of the face value, which corresponded to profitability of about 4.229%.
