Business news from Ukraine

“Metinvest” continues to produce steel products and mine iron ore under threat of shelling

Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group continues to produce steel products at its enterprises and produce iron ore raw materials under the constant threat of enemy shelling and under conditions of power shortage.
“Our enterprises, as far as it is possible under military conditions, continue to produce products for the defense and restoration of the country’s infrastructure, keep jobs and pay taxes,” the press service of Metinvest quoted the company’s general director Yuri Ryzhenkov as saying.
According to him, Metinvest’s enterprises in Ukraine are working under war conditions, but the work is also complicated by rising production costs, falling prices for certain types of products and logistical constraints due to the blocking of maritime exports. However, even under such difficult circumstances, the group’s enterprises continue to operate at different levels of utilization, taking into account security, logistics and economic factors.
“Kametstal” and the group’s joint venture “Zaporizhstal” continue to produce. Meanwhile, Kametsteel resumed production of pig iron, steel and rolled products in December after production was halted due to Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in late November 2022.
Construction of the 11th coal mining block is underway at the Pokrovsky Coal Group enterprises. Centralny GOK continues to produce pellets.
In general, the focus of the group’s enterprises is to promptly resume work or increase production levels under favorable conditions, according to the press release.
As before, the group’s priority remains to take care of its employees who support the production process. All facilities have bomb shelters manned for extended stays. The shelters are provided with water, food and medicines.
“Metinvest continues to fight the theft by rf, which illegally exported more than 234,000 tons of the company’s metal from Mariupol. In particular, 16 enterprises of the group filed lawsuits in the European Court of Human Rights against Russia for damages caused to property and assets of the group in Mariupol and other territories of Ukraine since February 24, 2022.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical companies. The enterprises of the group are mainly located in Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The major shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%) that manage it jointly.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.

, ,

“Metinvest” sent 20 generators and tactical equipment to Main Department of Intelligence

Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group has sent another batch of assistance worth UAH 7 million to the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front militarized initiative.
According to the company’s press release, Metinvest has been supporting the GUR since the first days of the full-scale invasion of Russia. Previously, the reconnaissance personnel received special forces ammunition kits, a variety of tactical equipment and machinery. This time the company handed over 20 generators, 50 drones, 19 thermal imagers, as well as a “pickup truck” to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
“Metinvest” provided, in particular, drones Mavic 2, Mavic 3 and Autel.
It is recalled that since the beginning of the full-scale war, Metinvest Group has provided support to the army and military for more than 1.4 billion UAH.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical companies. The group’s enterprises are mainly located in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The major shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%) that manage it jointly.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.

, ,

“Metinvest” transfers 12 metal shelters to military

Mining and Metallurgical Group “Metinvest” continues to support defenders of Ukraine and in November at enterprises of Krivoy Rog the company manufactured and transferred to the military 12 metal shelters that will strengthen the trenches and protect soldiers from artillery fire.
According to a company press release, the modular shelters are produced by teams of fitters and electric and gas welders at different enterprises of the group. The structures are assembled from corrugated steel according to an advanced design, taking into account the needs of the military. Each structure is six meters long and more than two meters in diameter, but can be easily disassembled for transportation and relocation to other positions. Specialists spend about 400 hours to produce one such construction.
It is noted that the modular shelters for the military are multifunctional. Inside each of them they dispose of six wooden beds and make a lifting floor that can be used as a storage area. They also installed special compartments for storing ammunition and strategic supplies, and heaters with clothes dryers were installed for warmth. The metal stoves were also used to cook food and boil water. In case of danger, defenders will be able to exit through the blocks with an emergency exit.
Protective structures are needed by the military to protect our nation’s borders and on the front lines. Within the framework of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front militarized initiative, the company’s enterprises manufactured and delivered 40 reliable modular shelters to the Ukrainian military. Metinvest enterprises plan to produce them until the end of the war.
It is also reminded that in order to create comfortable conditions for the defenders during the cold season the workers of Kryvyi Rih enterprises delivered 300 huts to the front line. “Metinvest workers” also help the fighters with equipment, fuel, building materials and devices for arrangement of bunkers.
Another press release states that December 6 is the Armed Forces Day in Ukraine. “Metinvest congratulates the incredible Ukrainian military and thanks them for the opportunity to meet new mornings, live and work on their land.
“The whole world friendly to us and even enemies recognize that such a motivated, professional and brave army cannot be found – it is in Ukraine”, – stresses in the congratulation.
It is also noted that Metinvest’s Krivoy Rog enterprises have been side by side with the military since the first missile attack on the city. “We built defensive structures, produced metal hedgehogs, armor plates, provided equipment, fuel and spare parts, equipped the life of the defenders. In the workshops of the enterprises we produced burzhuyki to keep the soldiers warm. Metinvest Group provided all the mobilized workers with bullet-proof vests and helmets, and their families were supported by humanitarian aid from Saving Life. “Until the final Victory and after it Metinvest will be a reliable support of Ukraine and the AFU,” the statement summarizes.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Enterprises of the group are mainly located in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The major shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%) that manage it jointly.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.

“Metinvest” announces tender to buy back its Eurobonds-2023 for up to $70 mln

Mining and Metallurgical Group Metinvest announced a tender to redeem its Eurobonds maturing April 23, 2023 for up to $70 million at a price of 70% to 80% of face value.
“The rationale behind the invitation (to tender) is to actively manage the group’s debt maturity profile to smooth debt service cash outflows and reduce liquidity shortages in the first half of 2023, given the highly volatile operating environment for the group and its subsidiaries,” Metinvest said in its information on the exchange.
The group stressed that it currently intends to continue servicing its debt, but the ongoing war in Ukraine, combined with volatile prices for Metinvest’s products, are creating unprecedented challenges for operations.
“The invitation gives the group’s investors an opportunity to reduce their exposure to Ukraine-related business in the context of the ongoing war and broader market turmoil,” Metinvest pointed out.
He specified that its Eurobonds-2023 with a total nominal value of $168.583 million are currently circulating in the market, although their initial issue size was $944.15 million.
Competitive and non-competitive bids for redemption are being accepted until the evening of December 9, and the results of the offer will be announced on December 12 with settlements on December 14.
“Metinvest” can continue the terms of the offer until the end of the day on December 23, but in this case will redeem the bonds at the price previously established during the tender minus another 3% of the face value with the final announcement of the results on December 28 and the settlement on December 29.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated mining group of companies. Its major shareholders are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage the company.
Earlier, similar tenders to buy the Eurobonds were announced by SCM’s energy subsidiaries: DTEK RES and DTEK Energy.
In particular, Ornex Limited of SCM Group is ready to buy DTEK RES Eurobonds issued for EUR325 mln at 8.5%, maturing in 2024, for the total amount of up to EUR20 mln at 30% of the face value. Bids were accepted until December 1, with the announcement of the results scheduled for December 5 and settlements on December 8.
DTEK Energy then announced that DTEK Holdings Limited is ready to buy its Eurobonds maturing in 2027 with a coupon rate of 7/7.5% for a total of $50 mln at a price of up to 27% of par. Bids will be accepted until the evening of Dec. 8, with the announcement of the results scheduled for Dec. 9 and settlement on Dec. 15.
According to the Stuttgart Stock Exchange, at the moment Metinvest’s Eurobonds are quoted at 79.67% of face value.

, ,

“Metinvest” intends to receive compensation from Russian Federation and direct it to development of Ukrainian plants

The mining and metallurgical group Metinvest intends to receive compensation from Russia for the enterprises destroyed by the war and direct it to the development of Ukrainian assets.
“We should get full compensation for the damage from the Russians and reinvest it in restarting Ukrainian plants,” Metinvest CEO Yury Ryzhenkov said on the air of Ian King Live on Sky News in Britain.
According to him, the company helps Ukraine defend itself against Russian attacks. He also shared the latest news about the current activities of the group’s enterprises and presented a steel bracelet “Azovstal. Symbol of indestructibility”, a joint project with UNITED24 presidential charity platform to raise funds for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Metinvest’s participation in the project is part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front militarized initiative.
“From the first days of the full-scale invasion, both of our shareholders (Rinat Akhmetov and Vadim Novinsky) decided that the company should support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Therefore, in addition to using our equipment to create a defense line, we developed new ways to produce armored steel, which is now used in body armor. We have supplied the Ukrainian Army and Territorial Defense with over 150,000 body armor. We have also developed new steel mobile shelters that can be used in the field to heat and protect the military from shelling,” said the top manager.
In addition, the group purchases and supplies the army with vehicles, armored vehicles, thermal imaging cameras, radios, etc. A large number of vehicles and equipment needed by the Ukrainian defense forces in the field.
Answering the question about what major assets of the company are now operating in Ukraine, the General Director stated that at present the group has two metallurgical plants in Ukraine: one in Zaporizhzhya and the other in Kamensk. Both of them are in operation now and their capacities are about 50-60% loaded. The company may produce armored plates, steel shelters, etc.
As for the group’s foreign assets, they experienced some difficulties at first mainly because they relied on semi-finished products from Azovstal to operate.
“Since then we have diversified our sources of supply of semi-finished products. For example, here in the UK, slabs are now supplied by British Steel, ThyssenKrupp. In Italy it is ADI. We have found different suppliers that can provide the volumes we need,” said the CEO.
According to him, everyone in the U.K. is working under the same conditions. And the steel industry is as competitive as it can be.
“But when it comes to support, and we’re all colleagues, we understand how we can support each other in the industry,” Ryzhenkov said.
Asked about the situation in Mariupol, which is under occupation, he said the group knows little about what is happening in Mariupol right now.
“There are still quite a few people there, but they can’t say much about what’s going on in the city. As far as I understand, the power supply is unstable, there is no water, no heating, there is a humanitarian disaster in the city right now,” the head of the company explained.
And again expressed confidence that there will be compensation for the destroyed plants.
“We are confident that we should receive full compensation for the losses from the Russians and reinvest it in the Ukrainian plants to resume their work,” the top manager summarized.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. The enterprises of the group are mainly located in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The major shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Vadim Novinsky’s Smart Holding (23.76%) that manage it jointly.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.

, , , ,

“Metinvest” allocated UAH 10m to buy three medical cars for Kryvyi Rih

Mining and Metallurgical Group “Metinvest” allocated 10 million UAH for the purchase of three medical vehicles for Krivoy Rog, the press service of the company said.
According to the company’s press release, Metinvest together with Kryvyi Rih military administration takes responsibility for provision of food products to vulnerable groups of population, welfare of displaced people and support of medical sphere. Financial support directed by Metinvest to the needs of the city already amounts to UAH 30 mln, the last tranche helped to increase the ambulance fleet.
At the same time, there are over 70 thousand internally displaced people in Kryvyi Rih. At the same time, doctors in the city’s hospitals save the lives of citizens and wounded defenders around the clock, and the issue of increasing the number of ambulances is especially urgent in order to get patients to the operating room in time.
“Metinvest’s help in acquiring an additional number of ambulances will significantly strengthen the mobility of the service,” said Konstantin Murashko, head of the health department of the executive committee of the Krivoy Rog City Council, who is quoted by the press service.
The press release reminds that since the beginning of full-scale war, Metinvest has established regular delivery of aid to Krivoy Rog hospitals. In total, in cooperation with Rinat Akhmetov’s Foundation there were purchases of medical devices, medical equipment and expendable materials for hospitals in Krivoy Rog to the amount of UAH 52 mln.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical companies. The group’s enterprises are mainly located in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The major shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Vadim Novinsky’s Smart Holding (23.76%) that manage it jointly.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.

, ,