Business news from Ukraine

DTEK PAVLOHRADVUHILLIA PLANS TO INVEST ALMOST UAH 30 BLN IN PRODUCTION BY 2030

DTEK Pavlohradvuhillia plans to invest almost UAH 30 billion in production by 2030, which will ensure the production of 141 million tonnes of coal, according to a press release from DTEK Energy, citing a press conference by DTEK Pavlohradvuhillia CEO Serhiy Voronin in Pavlohrad (Dnipropetrovsk region) on March 11.
“Despite the decline in the generation of TPPs, we see clear prospects for the development and full-fledged operation of our enterprises as part of DTEK Energy, at least for the next 10 years. Until 2030, manoeuvring generation will remain the most important link in the Ukrainian energy system, and it needs our coal,” Voronin said.
According to him, the company will allocate UAH 30 billion of investments for the purchase and overhaul of mining equipment and for the implementation of projects to improve the culture of production and the level of safety.
Coal will be mined at six mines of the association, the remaining four will be closed due to exhaustion of reserves.
“We are concentrating coal production at six mines. Four mines will be closed due to the end of effective coal reserves, two this year, two in a few years. The closure of mines due to the completion of reserves is a natural process, since the term of any mine is not infinite,” the CEO said.
One of the priority tasks of DTEK Pavlohradvuhillia is the development of digitalization projects.

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WORLD LEADER IN SUNFLOWER OIL PRODUCTION TO INVEST ADDITIONAL $63 MLN TO UKRAINIAN SIX OIL CRUSHING PLANTS

Kernel, the world leader in sunflower oil production, will invest an additional $63 million in 2021 fiscal year (started on July 1, 2020) in the implementation of an investment program for the construction of cogeneration heat and power plants its six oil crushing plants.
According to the company’s H1 FY2021 financial report, taking into account these funds, the total investment in the program since its inception in FY2018 reached $169 million. Three plants have already been already constructed and completing the precommissioning works, and three remaining facilities are to be commissioned in FY2022.
Kernel said that more than 50% of energy is already received from renewable sources, and their contribution to EBITDA in H1 FY2021 amounted to $10 million.
The company also recalled the goal announced in FY2020 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% over the next five years in the oilseeds segment.

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UKRAINE DECREASES VODKA PRODUCTION IN 2020

The decrease in vodka production in 2020 by 6.7% compared to 2019, to 44.5 million liters (in terms of pure alcohol) with an increase in its consumption and alcohol production by 36%, to 9.3 million decaliters, indicates the growth of the illegal alcohol market, Head of the State Fiscal Service Vadym Melnyk has said at a meeting with business representatives. According to him, in 2013-2020 production of vodka decreased by 2.5 times, alcohol – 2.8 times, and the excise tax on these products increased threefold.

Melnyk recalled that in order to combat illegal excisable goods, the service launched the Alcohol operation on February 1, 2021, during which law enforcement officers seized 226 tonnes of alcohol, 134 tonnes of alcoholic drinks, 547,000 packs of tobacco products and more than 8,000 excise duty stamps.

He clarified that for the period from February 1 to February 25, 2021, the Fiscal Service identified 53 websites with offers of illegal alcohol, 21 Internet ads were removed from websites. The courts are considering 12 petitions to restrict access to almost a hundred websites, one court decision was received with an appeal to the provider to stop illegal trade.

The head of the service noted the prevalence of online sales of illegal alcohol and its transportation through delivery services. He informed about the plans of the State Fiscal Service to work out a solution to reduce transportation of illegal excisable goods, without restricting the activities of carriers.

According to Melnyk, most of the seized alcohol was produced under the brands of the producers Prime, Lubotinn, Oleksandriya and Zlatogor.

In addition, he noted the facts of repeated confiscation of the previously seized products with the same excise stamps, as well as cases of theft of illegal products from storage sites and their incomplete utilization.

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SOUTH KOREAN HYUNDAI CORPORATION READY TO START NEGOTIATIONS ON LOCALIZATION OF HIGH-TECH PRODUCTION IN UKRAINE

South Korean Hyundai Corporation is preparing to start negotiations on the possible localization of high-tech production in Ukraine.
“Hyundai also plans to begin detailed negotiations on the possibility of investing in Ukraine and transferring technologies to localize the production of complex technologies,” said Eun Soo Choi, Vice President of the Commercial Transport and Energy Division of Hundai Corporation, during the All-Ukrainian Forum “Ukraine 30. Infrastructure” on Monday.
He also stated that Hyundai Corporation is inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and representatives of the Ukrainian government to visit Hyundai’s facility in Korea.
The South Korean Hyundai Corporation will allocate $2 million in grant funds for the development of a pre-feasibility study for the construction of a high-speed European-gauge railway network (1,435 mm).

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SEVERODONETSK AZOT INCREASES PRODUCTION OF MINERAL FERTILIZERS BY 2.2 TIMES

PrJSC Severodonetsk Azot (Luhansk region), part of the group of nitrogen business enterprises Group DF, in 2020 increased the production of mineral fertilizers by 2.2 times, to 843,160 tonnes, the press service of Group DF said on Thursday.
“Compared to 2019, we have more than doubled the production of mineral fertilizers. These figures are the result of the resumption of the full production cycle at the enterprise, the launch of ammonia production plant 1-A. We note growth in all products,” the press service said, citing the chairman of Severodonetsk Azot.
According to it, the production of ammonium nitrate last year increased by 19.5% compared to the previous year, to 444,380 tonnes, urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN) by 3.9 times, to 42,320 tonnes, and technical ammonia water by 2.7 times, up to 4,420 tonnes.
Carbamide production in 2020 amounted to 352,040 tonnes.
Group DF said that 432,860 tonnes of ammonia and 7,490 tonnes of liquid carbon dioxide were also produced in 2020.
“An important moment was the opportunity to include the capacity of the carbamide production shop in operation due to the resumption of its own ammonia production,” the press service said.
According to Group DF, the growth in production in 2020 was facilitated by the affordable price for natural gas (the main raw material in the production of mineral fertilizers), as well as the restoration of reliable power supply after the commissioning of the Kreminska substation. These measures made it possible to connect Severodonetsk Azot and entire Luhansk region to the Integrated Power System of Ukraine.
It is reported that in 2020 the company produced more than 19,000 cubic meters of medical gaseous oxygen in cylinders, which is supplied to hospitals in Luhansk region during the COVID-19 pandemic.
PrJSC Severodonetsk Azot is one of the largest Ukrainian chemical enterprises. It has been part of Dmytro Firtash’s Group DF since 2011. The core business of the enterprise is the production of mineral nitrogen fertilizers.

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LARGEST UKRAINIAN MINING AND METALLURGICAL HOLDING METINVEST INCREASES PRODUCTION OF STEEL BY 9% IN 2020

Metinvest, the largest Ukrainian mining and metallurgical holding, in 2020 increased steel production by 9% compared to 2019, to 8.268 million tonnes, cast iron by 7%, to 8.475 million tonnes, and total coke production by 3%, to 4.808 million tonnes.
According to a press release from the parent company Metinvest B.V. on the results of operating activities for 2020, the group in the fourth quarter of 2020 reduced the production of cast iron by 9% compared to the previous quarter, to 2.105 million tonnes due to a decrease in production at both Mariupol plants.
Thus, the decline at Illich Iron and Steel Works amounted to 137,000 tonnes, as blast furnace No. 3 was shut down for a major overhaul in November 2020 and at Azovstal to 63,000 tonnes amid less intensive blast furnace operations due to a planned overhaul of the air separation unit’s oxygen block and changes in the burden composition.
Steel production in the fourth quarter of 2020 decreased by 3% compared to the previous quarter, to 2.118 million tonnes, mainly due to an overhaul of basic oxygen furnace No. 2 at Azovstal in September-October 2020. At the same time, the volume of steel production at Illich Iron and Steel Works remained practically unchanged compared to the previous quarter as hot metal was reallocated to steelmaking.
In 2020, cast iron production increased by 7% compared to last year amid greater production at both Mariupol plants. At Azovstal, production climbed by 328,000 tonnes, as the highly efficient blast furnace No. 3 was launched following its major overhaul and upgrade in June 2019 and a planned major overhaul of blast furnace No. 2 in the fourth quarter of 2019.
At Illich Iron and Steel Works, output increased by 219,000 tonnes, mainly due to a low-base effect caused by the shutdown of blast furnaces No. 3 and 5 for planned overhauls in 2019.
Steel production in 2020 increased by 9% year-over-year mainly due to an increase in production at Illich Iron and Steel Works by 512,000 tonnes amid the reallocation of hot metal to steelmaking. The increase in production at Azovstal by 178,000 tonnes was caused by an increase in hot iron production.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, the production of semi-finished products decreased by 17% compared to the previous quarter, to 816,000 tonnes. At the same time, the decrease in cast iron production amounted to 107,000 tonnes as hot metal was redirected to make steel and downstream products at Illich Iron and Steel Works, and marketable slab to 57,000 tonnes due to the redistribution of slab in favor of flat-rolled products. In 2020, the production of merchant semi-finished products increased by 5% compared to 2019, to 3.313 million tonnes as Mariupol plants boosted merchant slab output by 329,000 tonnes in response to greater demand. Consequently, cast iron production declined by 14% y-o-y to 1.088 million tonnes.
In 2020, production of finished goods increased by 4% compared to the previous year, to 5.833 million tonnes. Namely: the production of flat products increased by 132,000 tonnes, to 4.809 million tonnes; the production of long products increased by 80,000 tonnes, to 794,000 tonnes; the production of rail products increased by 30,000 tonnes, to 79,000 tonnes amid an increase in orders from the Ukrainian railways; and the production of tubular products decreased by 4,000 tonnes, to 151,000 tonnes.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, coke production increased to 1.224 million tonnes.

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