Namsen Limited, a legal entity under control of Board Chairman of Kernel agricultural holding Andriy Verevsky, on November 29 acquired 56,744 shares in Kernel Holding S.A. (Luxembourg).
According to a company report on the website of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), average price of one share was PLN 52.72 ($13.94).
The company increased its stake in Kernel from 39.86% to 39.93%, and the total number of shares held by Namsen increased to 32.177 million.
As reported, on November 8 through November 13 Namsen acquired 178,186 shares in Kernel Holding S.A. at average price of PLN 51.36.
Kernel is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, the leading manufacturer and supplier of agricultural products from the Black Sea region to the world markets.
Two agricultural exporters Kernel Trade and ADM Trading Ukraine, as well as Mariupol Illich Steel Works affiliated with the Metinvest Group, are in the top three largest recipients of VAT refunds from the budget in November 2018, according to information on the website of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine. The largest recipient of the budget reimbursement of VAT in November was Kernel-Trade – UAH 1.35 billion (the company had no VAT refunds in October), followed by ADM Trading Ukraine with UAH 1.05 billion (UAH 707.9 million in October).
At the same time, the Mariupol Illich Steel Works dropped from first to third place in November, slightly decreasing its figure from UAH 761.7 million in October to UAH 759.5 million, according to the State Treasury Service.
The top five recipients also included one of the largest operators in the grain market Nibulon – UAH 741 million and ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih steel works – UAH 485.4 million (compensation information in October is not available for both companies).
The top ten largest VAT recipients in November also included Azovstal steel works affiliated with Metinvest – UAH 473.4 million (UAH 166 million in October), and AT Cargill – UAH 396.6 million (no refund data available in October).
ADM TRADING, KERNEL, METINVEST’S COMPANIES, RECIPIENTS, VAT REFUNDS
Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agricultural groups, in the fiscal year of 2018 (FY, July-June), reduced grain sales by 8.2% compared to the previous FY, to 4.646 million tonnes. According to the company’s website, sales of bulk sunflower oil in the 2018 FY increased by 20.1%, to 1.301 million tonnes, bottled sunflower oil decreased by 9.7%, to 118.6 million liters.
During this period, the holding processed 3.136 million tonnes of sunflower seeds, which is 6% more than in the 2017 FY.
In April-June of the 2018 FY sales of bulk oil increased by 37.3%, to 386,640 tonnes, bottled sunflower oil decreased by 16.3%, to 32.8 million liters compared to the same period last year.
Grain sales in the fourth quarter of the 2018 FY rose by 64.3% over the same period last FY, to 1.573 million tonnes.
Grain transshipment at the group’s export terminals in the 2018 FY decreased by 0.6%, to 6.06 million tonnes, in the fourth quarter it increased by 12.6%, to 1.61 million tonnes.
Kernel is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, the leading producer and supplier of agricultural products from the Black Sea region to the world markets.
Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agrarian groups, intends to reach EBITDA of $495 million by 2021 due to doubling exports, as well as investments and strategic acquisitions.
According to the company’s financial report on the website, Kernel plans by 2021 to increase production of bulk oil to 1.877 million tonnes, sales to 1.753 million tonnes. The company plans to achieve such figures through the construction of a new processing plant or the acquisition of a local player in Western Ukraine.
In addition, the group plans to increase sales of bottled oil in monetary terms to $150 million, keeping 131 million liters in natural terms, to increase throughput to 8.9 million tonnes through the commissioning in 2019 of a new grain terminal, Transbulkterminal, as well as raise grain sales to 8 million tonnes, the storage capacity to 5 million tonnes.
The company’s net profit for the last four quarters (April 2017-March 2018) was $35 million, which is 5 times less than in the 2017 financial year. Revenue for this period was $2.124 billion, EBITDA stood at $232 million, which is 2.1% and 27.3% respectively less than the figures for 2017.
Kernel is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, the leading producer and supplier of agricultural products from the Black Sea region to the world markets.
Kernel, a large Ukrainian agrarian group, cut grain sales by 21.8% in the third quarter of FY2018 (July 2017-June 2018), to 1.088 million tonnes. According to a company report posted on its website, bulk sunflower oil sales in January-March 2018 fell by 14%, to 252,740 tonnes, and bottled oil sales decreased 24.4%, to 26.16 million liters. Over the period the holding crushed 848,860 tonnes of sunflower seeds, which is s1.4% less than in Q3 FY2017.
According to the document, the throughput volumes at the company’s export terminals fell by 6.1%, to 1.515 million tonnes.
In 9M FY2018 Kernel cut grain sales by 25.1%, to 3.074 million tonnes, bottled oil sales by 6.9%, to 85.8 million liters and boosted bulk oil sales by 14%, to 914,680 tonnes.
Grain sales stemmed from a countrywide harvest decline, delayed harvesting campaign, and low willingness of farmers to sell crops waiting for better prices.
According to the document, In Q3 FY2018 Kernel completed the disposal of corporate rights in subsidiaries leasing in total 34,000 hectares of farmland in Ukraine, which were suboptimal for company’s operations. Combined proceeds are expected to be $19 million. Kernel is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, the leading producer and supplier of agricultural products from the Black Sea region to the world markets.
