Business news from Ukraine

METINVEST REDUCES CAPITAL INVESTMENTS TO $147 MLN FROM $148 MLN IN Q1

Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the Metinvest mining and metallurgical group, in January-March this year reduced capital investments by 1% compared to the same period last year, to $ 147 million from $ 148 million.
The unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2021 show that strategic investment declined 37% year-on-year as a result of the ongoing revision of the technology strategy and the completion of some key projects in 2020, while maintenance project investment increased by 32%, which brought its share in total capital investments to 30% and 70%, respectively (47% and 53% in the first quarter of 2020).
At the same time, Metinvest continued to implement the following key strategic projects: the construction of a cyclical flow technology at Pivnichny and Inhulets GOKs (completion of work at both GOKs is expected by the end of 2021), the construction of an air separation unit at Illich Steel Plant (detailed engineering documentation has been completed). Metinvest has also launched a project for thickening waste enrichment at Pivnichny GOK to reduce waste transportation costs and the cost of servicing pumping equipment at slurry pumping stations. The group continued the construction of new block No. 11 at the mine of the recently consolidated Pokrovske mine directorate to maintain production volumes.
“Despite the completion of the main work within the largest environmental project in the history of Ukraine – the reconstruction of the sinter plant at Illich Steel Mill, environmental issues remain a priority for the group,” the report emphasizes.
Thus, other environmental projects in the first quarter of 2021 included the reconstruction of the gas cleaning facilities of the foundry and the bunker rack of blast furnaces No. 4 and No. 5 at Illich Steel Mill, the reconstruction of the gas cleaning system of oxygen converters at Azovstal and the replacement of the gas cleaning equipment of the Lurgi 552-A roasting furnace at Pivnichny GOK.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. The group’s enterprises are located mainly in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The main shareholders of the holding are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.

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METINVEST INCREASES EBITDA BY 33% IN FEBRUARY

The revenue of Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the Metinvest mining and metallurgical group, in February this year increased by 17.9%, or $ 185 million compared to the previous month, to $ 1.216 billion from $ 1.031 billion.
According to the published preliminary unaudited consolidated monthly results of the company’s financial statements, total EBITDA in February was $ 503 million, which is $ 125 million, or 33.1%, higher than in January ($ 378 million), while EBITDA from participation in joint venture amounted to $ 86 million (in January – $ 80 million).
According to the report, the adjusted EBITDA of the metallurgical division of the group for February 2021 amounted to “plus” $ 257 million (in January – “plus” $ 171 million), including $ 21 million from participation in joint venture ($ 13 million), while EBITDA of the mining division – $ 318 million ($ 234 million), including from joint venture – $ 65 million ($ 67 million). The management company spent $ 6 million ($ 7 million).
Total revenue in February consisted of $ 920 million ($ 789 million in January) from the metallurgical division, $ 426 million ($ 329 million) from the mining division, and $ 130 million from intra-group sales ($ 87 million).
The total debt of the company in February increased by $ 83 million compared to January, to $ 3.033 billion from $ 2.950 billion, while the volume of cash increased by $ 61 million, to $ 1.180 billion from $ 1.119 billion.
Funds used in investment activities amounted to $ 201 million, in financial activities – $ 90 million.
Metinvest in February received $ 58 million from the resale of square billets in the amount of 95,000 tonnes. In addition, $ 170 million was received from the resale of 258,000 tonnes of flat products, 47,000 tonnes of long rolled products brought $ 32 million, 89,000 tonnes of pig iron – $ 45 million
The main shareholders of Metinvest are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), jointly managing the company.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.

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METINVEST TO INCREASE INCOME TAX PAYMENTS BY 7.4 TIMES IN JANUARY-JUNE 2021

Metinvest Group, taking into account associated companies and joint ventures, is expected to increase the payment of income tax by more than seven times in January-June 2021, year-over-year, to UAH 10.2 billion, a source in the tax authorities told Interfax-Ukraine.
In turn, Metinvest confirmed to the agency information about a significant increase in income tax payments in the first half of 2021.
“Enterprises of the Metinvest group will pay income tax in the first half of 2021, replenishing the national budget by UAH 10.2 billion (compared to the first half of 2020, the income tax paid was about UAH 1.4 billion). Thus, according to the results of the first half of the year, income tax payments increased by 7.4 times. This unprecedented increase in tax payments during coronavirus pandemic will help support the cities where Metinvest enterprises operate, pay salaries in full and on time communal and medical workers,” the company told the agency.
At the same time, the group said that Metinvest is one of the largest taxpayers in Ukraine. Thus, in 2020, the company increased its tax payments by 5%, to UAH 22.1 billion year-over-year. Earlier, the group said that over 15 years of its work, it transferred UAH 165 billion to the budgets of all levels.

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FITCH RATINGS REVISES METINVEST’S OUTLOOK TO STABLE FROM NEGATIVE

Fitch Ratings has revised Metinvest B.V.’s outlook to stable from negative, the Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) and senior unsecured rating for the bonds of the Ukrainian integrated steel company are affirmed at ‘BB-‘, the recovery rating is ‘RR4’, the rating agency said on its website. “The revision of Metinvest’s outlook reflects strong cash flow generation linked to supportive steel and iron ore markets amid the global economic recovery and our expectation of a gradual reduction of gross debt to $ 2.9 billion ($ 2.5 billion net; both Fitch-adjusted values) over the next three years. It also takes into consideration that some of this cash flow will be used for earnings accretive growth, including taking control of Pokrovske Coal and incremental capital expenditure,” the report says.
“Fitch now forecasts funds from operations (FFO) gross leverage of 1.5x-1.6x over the medium term, providing for very comfortable headroom compared to the negative ratio guideline of 2.5x for the ‘BB-‘ rating. But we note that the company does not have a formal dividend policy or gearing target,” it says.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine – in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, in European countries. In particular, in Bulgaria there is Promet Steel plant with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes of rolled metal per year, in Italy – Metinvest Trametal and Ferriera Valsider with a total capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year. In the UK, the company owns Spartan UK plant that can produce 200,000 tonnes of rolled steel per year.
The main shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.

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METINVEST ACQUIRES TWO MORE COMPANIES

Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group Metinvest, has established control over PrJSC Mine Construction Management Department No. 1 (Lysivka village, Pokrovsky district, Donetsk region) and PrJSC Automobile Enterprise Ukrbud (Pokrovsk, Donetsk region), included in Pokrovske Colliery.
According to the statement of the department in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine with reference to the information received on March 19 from Metinvest B.V., on March 18, 2021, the company received the ownership of the controlling stake in this enterprise.
“In pursuance of the requirements of Part 2 of Article 65 of the law on Joint Stock Companies, Metinvest B.V. said that on March 18, 2021, it acquired ownership of the controlling stake in the company as a result of the acquisition of shares in the charter capital of Sviato-Pokrovska Mine No. 3 LLC and became indirectly the owner of 20,466 ordinary registered shares of PrJSC Mine Construction Management Department No. 1, and taking into account the number of shares owned by it and its affiliates, became (directly and indirectly) the owner of 54.23% (from 4.29%) of the charter capital of PrJSC Mine Construction Management Department No. 1,” the enterprise said.
At the same time, it is specified that Metinvest B.V. has not acquired shares of PrJSC Mine Construction Management Department No. 1 within the last 12 months.
In turn, in the information of PrJSC Automobile Enterprise Ukrbud in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine with reference to the information received from Metinvest B.V. on March 19, it is reported that on March 18, 2021, the company received the ownership of a controlling stake in this enterprise.
“On March 18, 2021, Metinvest B.V., as a result of the acquisition of shares in the charter capital of Sviato-Pokrovska Mine No. 3 LLC, indirectly became the owner of 2573558 common registered shares of PrJSC Automobile Enterprise Ukrbud, which is 50,000971% of the charter capital of Ukrbud,” the company said.
It also clarifies that Metinvest B.V. has not acquired shares of PrJSC Automobile Enterprise Ukrbud within 2020.

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ILLICH IRON AND STEEL WORKS INCREASES ROLLED PRODUCTS OUTPUT BY 19%

Mariupol-based Illich Iron and Steel Works (Donetsk region), part of Metinvest Group, in January-February this year increased the production of general rolled products, according to recent data, by 19% compared to the same period last year, to 660,000 tonnes.
As the enterprise told Interfax-Ukraine, steel production during this period increased by 3.7%, to 700,000 tonnes, cast iron by 15.2%, to 765,000 tonnes, and sinter by 14.3%, to 2.152 million tonnes.
In February, the plant produced about 300,000 tonnes of general rolled products, 340,000 tonnes of steel, 410,000 tonnes of cast iron, and 1.07 million tonnes of sinter.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining companies. Its main shareholders are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), jointly managing the company.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the managing company of Metinvest Group.

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