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.
Agricultural holding Kernel, one of the largest in Ukraine, in the second quarter of fiscal year 2021 (FY, began in July 2020) saw $170.64 million in net profit, a rise of 3.8-fold year-over-year.
According to the company’s report posted on Friday, its revenue in October-December 2020 grew by 28.5%, to $1.327 billion.
The company said that in H1 FY2021 its net profit amounted to $404.02 million, and revenue reached $2.267 billion, a rise of 3.9-fold and 20.4% year-over-year respectively.
Kernel said that EBITDA in Q2 FY2021 increased 2.5-fold, to $269 million, and in H1 FY2021 – 2.6-fold, to $559 million.
The company said in the report that a grain price boom and oilseeds price hikes created an opportunity momentum for trading business.
Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agrarian holdings, in the second quarter of 2021 fiscal year (FY), which started in July 2020, increased sales of sunflower oil by 23% compared to the same period of the previous FY, to 425,340 tonnes.
According to a report published on the website on Thursday, sales of bottled sunflower oil for the period amounted to 9.1% of total sales (in the same period previous FY it was 8.4%).
In October-December this year, the holding’s oil extraction plants processed 1 million tonnes of oilseeds, up 5% from the second quarter of 2020 FY. The company said that this is a record high indicator for the quarter.
The report said that grain exports from Ukraine in the first quarter of 2021 FY increased by 6%, to 2.4 million tonnes, of which 52% from external suppliers, the rest was produced by the company’s agricultural divisions.
Grain transshipment at export terminals in Ukraine in the specified period increased by 41%, to 2.38 million tonnes. As the company said, this is due to the increase in transshipment volumes at the new Kernel export terminal in Chornomorsk seaport. The volume of grain received by the company’s elevators increased by 17%, to 2.38 million tonnes, but in general for the first half of the year it decreased by 9%, to 3.63 million tonnes due to a decrease in the harvest this season.
In general, in the first half of 2021 FY, the company increased oilseed processing by 5%, to 1.66 million tonnes, oil exports by 11%, to 721,580 tonnes, grain transshipment at export terminals by 47%, to 4.25 million tonnes and grain exports by 16%, to 4.52 million tonnes.
Kernel ended 2020 fiscal year (FY, July 2019-June 2020) with net income of $123 million, less by 31% compared to 2019 FY. Its revenue grew by 4%, to $4.11 billion, and EBITDA by 28%, to $443 million. The company’s net debt in 2020 FY grew by 41%, to $980 million.
Kernel is a producer and exporter of sunflower oil. It operates in such business segments as production, export and domestic sales of sunflower oil, crop production, export of grain crops, provision of services for storage and transshipment of grain at elevators and in port terminals.
Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agrarian groups, in the first quarter of 2021 fiscal year (FY), which began in July 2020, reduced sales of sunflower oil by 2% compared to the same period last FY, to 296,240 tonnes.
According to a report on the website of the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Monday, bottled sunflower oil sales in the specified period constituted 11.5% of total sales (in the same period last FY – 8.4%).
In July-September of this year, the holding’s oil extraction plants processed 662,610 tonnes of oilseeds, which is 5% more than in the first quarter of FY2020. The company said that this is – the largest ever volume in the first quarter of the financial year.
According to the report, the volume of grain exports from Ukraine in the first quarter of FY2021 increased by 31%, to 2.13 million tonnes, of which 1.9 million tonnes originated from external suppliers, and the remaining volumes being produced by company’s farming division.
Export terminals throughput volume in Ukraine increased by 56%, to 1.87 million tonnes. As explained in the company, this was driven by incremental transshipment volume on Company’s new grain export terminal in the port of Chornomorsk. The company’s silo in-take volume decreased by 36%, to 1.25 million tonnes, reflecting a crop size reduction in company’s farming business and a delayed harvesting campaign this season.
As of October 25, 2019, Kernel has threshed 43.7% corn, 98% sunflower and 100% wheat.
The agricultural holding intends to harvest corn from 254,800 hectares (10% more than a year earlier), sunflower from 148,200 hectares (9% more), wheat from 72,300 hectares (26% less), and other crops from 23,100 hectares (52% less). The company has a total of 498,400 tonnes of crop acreage, which is 3% less than in FY2020, the agricultural holding said.
Ukraine exported 3.8 million tonnes of sunflower oil worth $2.6 billion, which is 16% higher than the same period in 2018, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said. Supplies of soybean oil increased by 81% over this period, to 238,000 tonnes, the ministry said in a press releaes.
“Now farmers haven’t started harvesting sunflower seeds and soybeans yet, but the forecasts are rather optimistic. A reduction in areas under these crops by 4.4% in the case of sunflower seeds and 8% in soybeans was balanced by favorable weather conditions,” the ministry said.
As reported, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicts growth in vegetable oil exports from Ukraine by 250,000 tonnes, to 6.3 million tonnes at the expense of sunflower oil in the 2019/20 marketing year (MY, September-August) whose share in total oil exports may reach 5.85 million tonnes (data for August 2019).
Ukroliya (Poltava region) in January 2019 shipped a first batch of organic sunflower oil in the amount of 400 tonnes to the United States.
“In January 2019, we shipped the first batch of our organic oil of 400 tonnes to the United States,” PR Manager of Ukroliya Svitlana Lutsenko said at the third International Congress Organic Ukraine 2019, which took in Odesa on March 14 and March 15.
According to her, in 2018, the company exported 500 tonnes of classic organic oil, 400 tonnes of high oleic oil and 1,500 tonnes of organic sunflower oil cake.
“The projected volume of deliveries in 2019: 360 tonnes per month of organic sunflower high oleic oil; 100 tonnes per month of organic classical sunflower oil; 460 tonnes per month of organic sunflower oil cake,” Lutsenko said.
As reported, in November 2017 Ukroliya launched a plant for production of organic oil, Ukroliya Organic, in the village of Dykanka (Poltava region). Investments in it amounted to about UAH 50 million.
The company plans to process 18,000 tonnes of sunflower, 50,000 tonnes of soybeans a year, produce 7,020 tonnes of organic sunflower oil, 6,750 tonnes of organic soybean oil, 7,100 tonnes of cake, and 3,000 tonnes of sunflower husk.
Ukroliya was founded in 2001. It is engaged in production and sale of packed and bulk sunflower oil, sunflower meal, and husk. Its production facilities are located in the village of Dykanka and Zenkiv town (Poltava region).