Business news from Ukraine

UKRAINIAN INTERPIPE DELIVERS WHEELSETS TO ONE OF THE LARGEST RAILCAR BUILDING COMPANIES IN FRANCE

Ukrainian industrial company Interpipe signed a long-term contract for supplying of freight wheelsets to INVEHO UFO, one of the largest railcar building and carriage repair companies in France.
According to a company press release, the contract includes the delivery of 1,530 ULT-25 wheelsets to the French customer until September 2022.
INVEHO UFO is going to use them for manufacturing of new freight railcars. ULT-25 wheelsets were designed by Interpipe’s engineers for the European gauge, they are in great demand by clients both in France and Germany as well as in other European countries.
Interpipe Railway Products Division Director Oleksandr Garkavyi said that French INVEHO UFO is its regular customer. Interpipe has already shipped them twice large orders.
“ULT-25 wheelset is one of the most popular designs at the European market of freight trains with speeds up to 120 km/h. The low-stress design of the wheel disc enables to enhance its durability and life cycle. We expect not only to maintain, but also to expand our cooperation with INVEHO UFO with other types of products,” he said.

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UKRAINIAN INDUSTRIAL COMPANY INTERPIPE SIGNS MEMO OF UNDERSTANDING WITH MUBADALA FROM UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Interpipe, a Ukrainian industrial company, and Mubadala, the state investment fund of the government of Abu Dhabi, signed a memorandum of understanding on February 14, 2021.

Interpipe reported on Facebook the memorandum was signed during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the United Arab Emirates. On behalf of the company, the document was signed by First Deputy CEO Denys Morozov.

At the same time, it is noted that Interpipe has long been present in the Middle East markets.

“Every second building in Abu Dhabi was built with our pipes. Moreover, during the global crisis last year, this particular region showed growth, and the demand for steel pipes was maintained at a high level. This allowed us to start cooperation and ship the first pipe products to the address of one of the flagships of the world oil and gas business – National Oil Company of Abu Dhabi ADNOC,” the group said.

Interpipe is a Ukrainian industrial company, a manufacturer of seamless pipes and railway wheels. Products are supplied to more than 80 countries around the world through a network of sales offices located in the key markets of the CIS, the Middle East, North America and Europe.

INTERPIPE STARTS SUPPLIES OF PIPES TO QATAR

Ukrainian industrial company Interpipe made a first supply of line pipes to Qatar Petroleum, one of the biggest oil producers in the Middle East.

According to a company press release, steel pipes are going to be applied for the QP’s onshore Dukhan Field oil and gas basin project.

According to Qatar Petroleum specification, pipes must comply with the highest level of sour service requirements and operate in the H2S environment.

It took us more than three years to become a prequalified supplier for Qatar Petroleum. On the final stage, Bureau Veritas, an international inspection company nominated by QP, conducted a detailed audit of Interpipe facilities to confirm that all specifications and technical requirements were met.

Andrey Burtsev, commercial director for Ukraine, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East regions, said that the contract with Qatar Petroleum is an important milestone in Interpipe development in the Middle East.

“We have passed through a difficult and long path of negotiations, audits and prequalifications before first supply was made. QP is very selective and cautious when choosing vendors and this contract confirms Interpipe’s reputation as a reliable and first-class pipes supplier for the global Oil & Gas companies,” he said.

INTERPIPE CUTS PRODUCTION IN 2020

The international vertically integrated pipe and wheel company Interpipe in 2020 reduced steel output by 11.2% compared to the previous year, to 758,700 tonnes.
According the company’s monthly report, the production of pipes in 2020 decreased by 20.9%, to 464,000 tonnes and the production of railway products, by 8.3%, to 190,600 tonnes.
In December, steel output amounted to 61,800 tonnes, output of railway products to 16,500 tonnes, and pipes to 38,400 tonnes.
It is also reported that in 2020 pipes were sold in Europe (29%), the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region (24%), Ukraine (22%), the CIS (11%), the American continent (11%) and other regions (3%). In December, pipes were sold in Europe (21%), Ukraine (28%), the MENA region (20%), the CIS (9%), the American continent (18%) and other regions (4%).
Railway products last year were sold in the CIS (43%), Europe (35%), Ukraine (14%), the MENA region (4%), the American continent (3%) and other regions (1%). In December, railway products were sold in the CIS (46%), Europe (27%), Ukraine (16%), the MENA region (5%), the American continent (5%) and in other regions (1%).
According to Interpipe’s commentary, sales of most of the company’s products rose in December amid a recovery in the global economy and markets, despite stricter lockdowns in some countries.
Total pipe sales in December 2020 grew 37.2% compared to November 2020, surpassing pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) monthly sales in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020. However, year-over-year sales for the 12 months of 2020 were still lower, less by 21% compared to 2019.
Oil country tubular goods (OCTG) sales, after a 142.4% rise in November versus October, grew by 29.8% compared to November amid intensive drilling activity worldwide and optimistic expectations for COVID-19 vaccines and exceeding the threshold of $50 per barrel of crude oil for the first time since March 2020.
Sales of general purpose pipes in December increased by 8.1% versus November due to sales growth in Turkey, the United States and Belarus, while sales of welded pipes fell by 34.1% compared to November in all regions due to unfavorable market conditions.
At the same time, sales of railway products in general over the past year decreased by 5.4%. At the same time, it is noted that the total sales of wheelsets in 2020 increased significantly by 32%.
Interpipe is a Ukrainian industrial company, a manufacturer of seamless pipes and railway wheels. The company’s products are supplied to more than 80 countries around the world through a network of sales offices located in the key markets of the CIS, the Middle East, North America and Europe.

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INTERPIPE ATTRACTS EUR 37 MLN LOAN

The international vertically integrated pipe and wheel company Interpipe concluded an agreement with JSB Ukrgasbank to sign a general loan agreement for the amount of EUR 37 million.
According to a company’s press release, the general agreement provides for a EUR 30 million amortized loan for five years and a revolving credit line for EUR 7 million for three years.
Interpipe Chief Financial Officer Denys Morozov said that Interpipe has raised its first loan after completing the debt restructuring in October 2019.
“It has been obtained as part of the implementation of the Company’s strategic goals and allows reducing the interest burden for the Company. We are especially pleased that the financing for the Ukrainian industrial company has been secured at the Ukrainian state bank Ukrgasbank that is known as Ecobank and has been financing a wide range of environmental and green projects. We intend expanding our cooperation with the bank in other areas as well,” Morozov said in a press release.
As reported, Interpipe announced the decision to carry out the next partial redemption (buyout) of eurobonds 2024, this time in the amount of $74.82 million. The redemption is scheduled to be carried out by December 29 this year.

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INTERNATIONAL PIPE AND WHEEL COMPANY INTERPIPE RECEIVES $ 216 MLN IN EBITDA IN JAN-SEPT

Interpipe, the international vertically integrated pipe and wheel company, in January-September 2020 received $ 216.394 million in EBITDA, which is 8% more than in the same period last year.
According to a press release of the company, based on the unaudited IFRS consolidated financial statements for the nine months of 2020, in January-September revenue fell by 23%, to $ 660 million, capital investments by 34%, to $ 27 million.
The press release emphasizes that the company’s net debt has reached a de-minimis level of $ 12 million with a net leverage ratio (net debt to EBITDA) that has dropped to almost zero (0.05x).
In the third quarter of 2020, the company’s revenue decreased by 12% compared to the previous quarter, to $ 192 million, EBITDA increased by 7%, to $ 67 million, the amount of capital investments increased by 12%, to $ 9 million.
“In Q3 2020 Interpipe operated in a quite challenging environment across all markets. The COVID-19 pandemic as well as oil and gas prices downturn led to the global decline in demand for pipes, particularly, OCTG products. Moreover, lockdowns and reduction of freight turnover hit global railway wheel market,” the report says.
“In the first nine months of 2020, Interpipe’s overall revenue declined by 23% y-o-y to $ 660 million primarily due to a decline in pipe sales volumes and prices. Revenue from pipes shrank by 35% y-o-y to $ 349 million whereas the railway product revenue decreased by 6% y-o-y to $ 216 million,” according to the document.
“Nevertheless, Interpipe managed to achieve а sound nine-month 2020 EBITDA which amounted to $ 216 million, up by 8% y-o-y. On the back of the COVID-19 pandemic and reinstatement of the anti-dumping duty in the Customs Union the railway product segment was the main contributor to the EBITDA growth: its pass-through EBITDA went up by 24% y-o-y to $ 161 million and comprised 75% of the total EBITDA for the nine months of 2020,” it said.
“At the same time, the pipe segment EBITDA for the first nine months of 2020 drastically dropped by 79% y-o-y to $ 10 million despite stable sales of linepipes and some recovery of OCTG in Q3 2020,” it said.
“As of September 30, 2020, gross debt went down substantially to $ 122 million following the partial redemption of the notes in amount of $ 97 million in August 2020. In addition, net debt achieved an unprecedently low level of $ 12 million bringing down consolidated net leverage ratio (net debt to EBITDA) almost to zero (0.05x),” the report says.
“Despite extremely harsh business environment in Q3 and the first nine months of 2020 Interpipe kept showing a solid financial performance. The company retrieved its full financial stability and flexibility having achieved effectively a zero net leverage. Our progress and substantially improved credit profile have been also appreciated and confirmed by international credit rating agencies – Fitch Ratings and S&P Global – assigning to Interpipe ‘B’ rating with stable outlook,” CEO at Interpipe Fadi Hraibi commented on the results.

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