Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

KSG Agro reduced its net profit by 37%

In the first quarter of 2024, KSG Agro agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 37% to $0.96 million, while revenue decreased by 2% to $5.02 million, according to the company’s report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

“As in the previous year, the Group used more of its own grain for feed production rather than purchasing it (to reduce dependence on external suppliers of feed components in wartime). In 2024, the Group continues to export grain,” the document says.

According to it, due to a 10-fold increase in the benefits of biological transformation this year (up to $1.06 million), gross profit increased by 10% to $2.26 million, operating profit by 5% to $1.61 million, while EBITDA decreased by 2% to $1.83 million.

It is specified that the higher profit last year was due to the sale of a subsidiary for $0.76 million.

According to the report, KSG Agro managed to slightly reduce its net debt in the first quarter of this year to $15.06 million from $15.63 million due to a reduction in bank loans to $15.17 million from $15.84 million. The agricultural holding’s free cash flows at the end of March amounted to $0.11 million compared to $0.21 million at the beginning of the year.

During January-March 2024, the key operating subsidiary KSG Dnipro issued $5 million of C and D series bonds with a coupon rate of 7% per annum and maturity in August and October 2025, respectively, of which it placed $1.35 million of C series bonds.

As noted, the sowing campaign is proceeding according to plan, without significant interruptions due to military operations. As of the date of the report, the group sowed sunflower on an area of 7.7 thousand hectares, wheat on 2.2 thousand hectares and rapeseed on 1.43 thousand hectares.

According to the report, KSG Agro, a vertically integrated holding company, is one of the top 5 pork producers in Ukraine. It is also engaged in the production, storage, processing, and sale of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank is about 21 thousand hectares in the Dnipro and Kherson regions.

In 2023, KSG Agro reduced its net loss by 30.9% to $1.16 million, while revenue increased by 13.8% to $18.79 million.

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KSG Agro reduced its net loss by 30.9%

In 2023, KSG Agro agricultural holding reduced its net loss by 30.9% to $1.16 million, while revenue increased by 13.8% to $18.79 million.

This data is presented in the company’s annual report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

“The increase in revenues in 2023 is largely due to the resumption of grain exports, which were limited in 2022 due to the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In addition, in 2022, the Group used more of its own grain for feed production rather than purchasing it, seeking to reduce dependence on external suppliers of feed ingredients due to wartime logistical reasons,” the document says.

It is specified that the total revenue from crop production last year amounted to $12.6 million compared to $4.5 million in 2022, but the net change in the fair value of crops was less than a year earlier – $1.6 million versus $4.6 million.

It is noted that as an alternative source of income to hedge against unpredictable weather conditions, KSG Agro used its agricultural equipment and expertise to provide tillage and similar land preparation services to other crop producers for a total of $2.5 million compared to $1.3 million in 2022.

Due to lower prices for agricultural products and higher sales costs, the gross profit of the agricultural holding fell 6.6 times last year to $0.48 million, and also recorded an operating loss of $1.62 million and negative EBITDA of $0.40 million, while a year earlier these indicators were positive – $0.44 million and $1.79 million, respectively.

It is also indicated that due to lower exchange rate losses, the total loss in 2023 decreased even more significantly – to $1.21 million from $4.31 million a year earlier.

According to the report, KSG Agro managed to almost halve its net debt last year to $15.63 million from $27.46 million due to a reduction in bank loans to $15.84 million from $27.74 million. The agricultural holding’s free cash flow at the end of 2023 was $0.21 million compared to $0.27 million a year earlier.

During the first quarter of 2024, the group repaid a total of $4.28 million of its existing loans from TAScombank and received new tranches totaling $2.30 million, as well as issued series C and D bonds of its key operating subsidiary KSG Dnipro for approximately $5 million, of which it placed series C bonds for $1.4 million.

The number of permanent employees of the agricultural holding decreased in 2023 to 234 from 274 a year earlier.

It is noted that the group expects the winter crop harvest in 2024 to be at least average.

As for pig farming, it is indicated that during 2023 KSG Agro gradually reduced the massive number of pigs at the farm in Niva Trudova. The main reasons were concerns about the general safety and biosecurity of the herd, as well as changes in the group’s strategy and general market conditions: less herd, more farms – to reduce the risk of losing the entire pig population in the event of a missile or drone strike, the agricultural holding began to distribute the herd to several locations.

The group’s management is currently negotiating ways to expand the number of farms under its management, either through a partnership program with other pig farmers or by leasing or buying additional farms, the report says.

It also indicates that, based on the results of the trials, most of the low-productivity sows were gradually removed from the main herd and sold during the year, and to replace them, KSG Agro is purchasing new sows of Canadian genetics, in particular, it plans to purchase another batch later in 2024. The fresh Canadian genetics are expected to enable the group to produce high-quality piglets that will be sold as piglets rather than being raised further on the group’s farms. It should also shorten the group’s production cycle, further reducing overall safety and biosecurity risks.

KSG Agro, a vertically integrated holding company, is, according to him, one of the top 5 pork producers in Ukraine. It is also engaged in the production, storage, processing and sale of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank is about 21 thousand hectares in Dnipropetrovska and Kherson regions.

KSG Agro earned $1.34 million in net profit in January-September 2023, up almost 14 times compared to the same period in 2022. Its EBITDA for the three quarters of 2023 increased by 67% to $4.54 million, and revenue increased by 16% to $11.9 million.

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KSG Agro will grow coriander on 220 hectares

In 2024, KSG Agro will introduce a new crop to its crop rotation – coriander – on 220 hectares of land, the group’s press service reports.
“It’s no secret that due to the full-scale war, prices for certain crops do not allow agricultural producers to grow them at a profit. This encourages us to make adjustments to the range of crops we grow. So this year we are adding coriander to the crop rotation, which is the fastest growing among other essential oil crops in Ukraine,” said Dmytro Emelchenko, Head of the company’s crop production division.
He called the cultivation of coriander quite profitable, as it is a raw material for essential oil used in the food and cosmetic industries.
“It is also important for us that the best predecessors of coriander in the fields are winter crops, and it also grows well after corn,” added Emelchenko.
According to him, KSG Agro, a vertically integrated holding company, is one of the top 5 pork producers in Ukraine. It is also engaged in the production, storage, processing and sale of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank is about 21 thousand hectares in Dnipropetrovska and Kherson regions.
In January-September 2023, KSG Agro earned $1,336 million in net profit, which is almost 14 times more than in the same period of 2022. Its EBITDA for the three quarters of this year increased by 67% to $4.5 million, and sales revenue increased by 16% to $11.9 million.

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“Genesus Ukraine” will supply KSG Agro with 3.5 thousand head of pigs of Genesus breeding

KSG Agro and Genesus Ukraine LLC (Kyiv) have signed a one-year contract for the supply of 3.5 thousand head of Canadian-bred pigs of Genesus breeding, the press service of the agricultural holding reported.

According to the report, Genesus Ukraine undertook to supply 3.5 thousand heads of purebred and hybrid pigs GP (Yorkshire) and F1 (Yorkshire + Landrace) to the pig farms of KSG Agro in 2024. In addition, 30 heads of purebred boars of the Duroc and Landrace breeds will be supplied under the agreement. The first delivery of pigs is expected on March 1, 2024.

“We have repeatedly noted the qualitative advantages of Canadian Genesus pigs, which are superior to their European counterparts in terms of litter size, farrowing weight and meat quality. This year, we will continue the process of renewing the pig herd, which began in 2023 and is aimed at improving the quality characteristics of the herd. These include improving the health of piglets and improving the taste of meat,” said Sergiy Kasyanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of KSG Agro.

“Our company has been cooperating with KSG Agro, one of the leaders in the Ukrainian pig breeding market, for three years now. And this year our cooperation is reaching a new level in terms of volume. This once again proves in practice that Genesus pigs are hardy, grow quickly and develop well, producing the maximum possible number of kilograms of piglets per square meter of farm,” said Genesus representative in Ukraine Yevhen Shatokhin.

KSG Agro noted that the main quality indicators of Canadian Genesus pigs are 2.55 farrowings per year, 16 piglets born, the average weaning age is 21 days, and the average weaning weight is 6-6.3 kg.

KSG Agro, a vertically integrated holding company, is engaged in pig production, as well as the production, storage, processing and sale of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank is about 21 thousand hectares in Dnipropetrovska and Kherson regions.

According to the agricultural holding, it is one of the top 5 pork producers in Ukraine. In 2023, it launched a “network-centric” strategy, which will move from developing a large location to a number of smaller pork production facilities located in different regions of Ukraine.

In January-September 2023, KSG Agro earned $1,336 million in net profit, which is almost 14 times more than in the same period in 2022. Its EBITDA for the three quarters of this year increased by 67% to $4.5 million, and sales revenue increased by 16% to $11.9 million.

Genesus is the world’s largest privately held genetics company specializing in the breeding of pigs. Genesus is headquartered in Manitoba, Canada. The company’s nucleus and breeding farms are located in many countries around the world, including Canada, the United States, China, Thailand, the Philippines, France, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Genesus Ukraine LLC supplies pigs from the UK and Canada, and in Ukraine owns pig breeding facilities at Agrarian Company 2004 LLC (Popovtsi, Khmelnytsky region), which is part of the Vitagro agricultural holding.

According to the Unified Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the ultimate beneficiary of Genesus Ukraine is Andriy Zaretskyi (Kyiv).

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KSG Agro exported 4600 tons of wheat to Spain in December

In December 2023, KSG Agro agricultural holding exported 4600 tons of wheat to Spain, the company’s press service reports.

According to the report, the wheat was purchased by grain trading companies.

“In wartime, any export delivery is always a task with many unknowns. However, despite numerous difficulties, we continue to export grain to international markets. In the current most difficult period of Ukraine’s history, the food security of many countries depends on us, agricultural producers and exporters,” said Sergiy Kasyanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of KSG Agro, as quoted in the report.

As reported, in the first quarter of 2023, KSG Agro exported 4,200 tons of grain crops mainly to Asia and Africa. Deliveries were made as part of the “grain corridor” through the ports of Odesa and Odesa region.

KSG Agro, a vertically integrated holding company, is engaged in pig breeding, as well as the production, storage, processing and sale of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank is about 21 thousand hectares in Dnipropetrovska and Kherson regions.

According to the agricultural holding, it is one of the top 5 pork producers in Ukraine.

In January-September 2023, KSG Agro received $1,336 million in net profit, which is almost 14 times more than in the same period in 2022. Its EBITDA for the three quarters of this year increased by 67% to $4.5 million, and sales revenue increased by 16% to $11.9 million.

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KSG Agro has completed sunflower harvesting with yield of 24 c/ha

The farms of KSG Agro have completed the sunflower harvesting campaign on an area of 7,360 hectares with a yield of 24 c/ha, the press service of the agricultural holding reported.

“The results of the harvesting campaign are positive for us, thanks to weather conditions with sufficient rainfall. We predicted a final yield of 23-25 cwt/ha, but in fact we got 24 cwt/ha. This year’s harvesting campaign was delayed because we partially used seeds with a late maturity. We should also mention the results of Apostolivske branch, which for the first time since it joined the holding achieved high sunflower yields of 24.5 c/ha,” said Dmytro Emelchenko, Head of the company’s crop production division, as quoted in the press release.

According to him, in parallel with the sunflower harvesting campaign, the holding’s farms sowed winter wheat on an area of 2 thou hectares and rapeseed on an area of 1.5 thou hectares.

“The peculiarity of this year’s winter crops was that due to weather conditions we sowed almost dry. Nevertheless, the seedlings received at the end of October are in satisfactory good condition,” said Mr. Yemelchenko.

KSG Agro, a vertically integrated holding company, is engaged in pig production, as well as the production, storage, processing and sale of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank is about 21 thousand hectares in Dnipropetrovska and Kherson regions.

According to the agricultural holding, it is one of the top 5 pork producers in Ukraine.

Last year, due to the full-scale war launched by Russia, KSG Agro ended with a net loss of $1.68 million compared to $17.71 million in net profit in 2021, its EBITDA decreased 5.5 times to $1.79 million, and revenue decreased by 47.3% to $16.2 million.

In the first quarter of 2023, the agricultural holding earned $1.53 million in net profit, which is 17% less than in the same period last year. Its EBITDA increased by 23% to $1.87 million and revenue by 45% to $5.12 million.

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