KSG Agro agricultural holding intends to achieve a 15% increase in pig breeding in live weight for 2020 compared to 2019.
“Increasing production is our strategic goal. Moreover, the market situation and increasing demand contribute to this. Therefore, our plans this year are to increase pig breeding products in live weight by 15% compared to the same indicator in 2019,” KSG Agro Board Chairman Serhiy Kasyanov told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the agricultural holding did not revise investment plans for 2020 due to quarantine and the uncertain economic situation in Ukraine.
“These plans are valid and we did not change them. The planned investment for the year to continue the reconstruction of the main industrial complex and the start of the design of the genetic reproducer will be about UAH 25 million. The genetic reproducer will produce Danish boars and sows, which will allow us to reduce costs and start sales to other customers,” the owner of KSG Agro said.
Kasyanov said that in 2020 the holding plans to increase exports of manufactured products.
“In the first quarter of this year, we exported 1,356 tonnes of wheat flour to Libya. Export volumes are growing. For comparison, we shipped 720 tonnes of wheat flour for 2019. So far, despite the crisis, we plan to increase the export of our products. In the second quarter we intend to export 2,000 tonnes of wheat flour, some 1,000 tonnes of barley, some 500 tonnes of refined sunflower oil and some 1,000 tonnes of other goods,” the KSG Agro board chairman said.
KSG Agro, a vertically integrated holding, is engaged in pig breeding and production, storage, processing and sale of grain and oilseeds. As of June 30, 2019, the land bank of the holding in Ukraine amounted to about 27,000 hectares.
On April 8, the farms that are part of KSG Agro agricultural holding launched the 2020 spring sowing campaign intend to plant 7,200 hectares of sunflower, some 2,200 hectares of corn and some 548 hectares of sorghum.
According to a Thursday press release of the agricultural holding, the sowing campaign that started on the holding’s farms is a routine, in accordance with the planned schedule. All agricultural enterprises are provided with fertilizers, crop protection products and seed in sufficient quantities.
The agricultural holding said that all necessary measures are being taken to prevent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread.
“This is primarily daily temperature screening of the employees and providing them with personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, disinfectants). Disinfectants are placed near all workplaces,” KSG Agro said.
KSG Agro in January-September 2019 saw $10 million of net profit, which is almost 4.5 times more than a year ago.
According to unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements of the holding posted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), its revenue over the period fell by 11.3%, to $17.76 million.
KSG in January-September of this year reduced gross profit by 58.3% compared to the same period in 2018, to $ 1.86 million, operating – by 41.2%, to $2.54 million.
KSG’s revenue in the crop production segment for the reporting period decreased 32.2%, to $7.8 million. In particular, from the sale of sunflower oil the company saw $4.9 million, wheat $1.6 million, rapeseed $0.5 million, barley $0.5 million and sorghum $0.2 million
Over the first nine months of 2019, KSG’s revenue in the livestock segment decreased 1.7%, to $5.8 million (last year, sales of cows were included in the segment’s revenue, later KSG sold cattle and focused on pig breeding), pig sales remained at the January-September 2018 level and amounted to 72,000 heads.
The total assets of the agricultural holding as of September 30, 2019 amounted to $75.7 million compared with $53.2 million as of December 31, 2018.
In 2019, the group completed the restructuring of its core loans. In particular, In February 2019, the Group has restructured its debt under the loan from Big Dutchman Pig Equipment. The remaining balance was repaid in full. In July 2019, the group has finalized restructuring terms for an overdue loan from Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (LBBW) in the total amount as at December 31, 2018, including interest, of $9.9 million. As a result, the group’s debt under the loan was reduced to EUR 3.2 million. At the date these financial statements are being issued, the remaining balance is $3.3 million
The group’s long-term liabilities as of September 30, 2019 amounted to $19.1 million compared with $20.5 million as of December 31, 2018, current liabilities as of September 30, 2019 amounted to $52.5 million compared with $49.1 million as of December 31, 2018.
As of the reporting date, KSG has completed its 2019 harvesting campaign and is sowing winter crops. As of September 30, 2019, the group harvested 14,500 tonnes of wheat, 12,200 tonnes of sunflower, 3,900 tonnes of barley, 2,800 tonnes of corn and 1,100 tonnes of rapeseed.
KSG Agro next year plans to boost grain and wheat flour export to Oman, Qatar, Libya and Angola 2.8 times compared with 2019, to 50,000 tonnes.
The holding said in a press release that in 2019 KSG Agro plans to export up to 18,000 tonnes of grain and flour to these countries, and at present, 11,800 tonnes of goods have been delivered.
The company said that in 2019, the agricultural holding exported cereals and flour exclusively to Oman, Qatar, Libya and Angola.
“We are very interested in exporting to the markets of the Middle East and Africa, where there is a demand for our products. Expanding agricultural exports allows us to diversify sales channels and receive foreign exchange earnings, as well as increase margins,” KSG Agro Board Chairman Serhiy Kasianov said.
In 2018, KSG Agro delivered 5,000 tonnes of corn to Oman and Qatar, in 2019 the export of this crop to two countries amounted to 5,300 tonnes. In addition, this year, the agricultural holding exported feed barley to these two countries in the amount of 4,000 tonnes. Also in 2019, KSG Agro delivered 2,500 tonnes of wheat flour to Libya and Angola.
“Thus, the total export volume of agricultural products of the agricultural holding in 2019 increased 2.4 times compared to 2018,” KSG Agro said.
KSG Аgro is a vertically integrated agricultural group, working in almost all the segments of the agricultural market, including the production, storage, processing, and sale of agricultural products.
KSG Agro Holding has signed an agreement on the restructuring of a loan debt to Germany’s Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (LBBW).
The amount of the loan provided in October 2012 was EUR11.5 million, the balance of the debt was EUR8.3 million, the holding’s press service said. Some 33% of the debt, which is EUR3.2 million, is to be repaid. The agricultural holding borrowed the funds to buy equipment from the German company Big Dutchman for its pig farm in the village of Nyva Trudova in Dnipropetrovsk region (LLC Rantier).
“Successful restructuring means available working capital, which will be spent on developing existing projects and launching new ones in the field of crop production and pig breeding,” Chairman of the KSG Agro Holding’s Board of Directors Serhiy Kasyanov said.
As reported, KSG Agro in April 2019signed an agreement on loan restructuring to Big Dutchman with a decrease in debt from EUR4.8 million to EUR1.03 million.
KSG Agro in the first quarter of 2019 increased net profit by 1.6 times, to $3.46 million, while revenue fell by 12.5%, to $3.4 million. Financial income for the three months of 2019 included $4.3 million in profit from restructuring.
KSG Agro plans to increase pig numbers by 50% in 2019, according to a company report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE).
“We want to double the number of pigs by 50% – from the existing 60,000 at the fattening stage to about 100,000 heads. This is a level that is safe in terms of availability of feed,” KSG Agro CEO Andriy Skorokhod said.
The Ukrainian holding also plans to set up an enterprise for the selection of sows with a capacity of 2,000 heads with a group of investors at the first stage (a total of three stages of the project are planned).
“Negotiations with partners continue, the project will involve the Danish fund and the Ukrainian retail chain, and we intend to cover 30% of the project’s shares. We plan to sell sows not only to the Ukrainian market, but also to foreign markets, and we have some experience in selling to China and Georgia,” Skorokhod said.
According to him, a fall in the number of pigs in the world, in particular because of the ASF, contributes to the plans of the agricultural holding. More detailed information will become known in a few months.
KSG Аgro is a vertically integrated agricultural group, working in almost all the segments of the agricultural market, including the production, storage, processing, and sale of agricultural products.
