Business news from Ukraine

Ukreximbank’s net profit amounted to UAH 1.9 bln

The profit of state-owned Ukreximbank for the first half of 2023 amounted to UAH 1.976 billion, while the same period of 2022 the bank ended with a net loss of UAH 2.537 billion.

“June’s net profit of UAH 440 million allowed Ukreximbank to complete the first half of 2023 with a profit of UAH 1.976 billion. For the same period of 2021, the Bank earned for the state UAH 1.1 billion,” the bank reported on Friday.

It is indicated that interest income generated by the working loan portfolio of the bank takes the main part in the structure of income.

In addition, the bank managed to settle NPL for UAH 670 million, the release said.

Ukrexim said that in the second half of 2023 it intends to increase lending to the economy, offering long-term resources under MFI programs, including grant and compensation components, as well as to support cities and communities in the restoration of infrastructure

“Ukreximbank will continue to fulfill its specialized role in Ukraine’s banking system – strengthening exports, improving the efficiency of imports, financing strategic sectors of the economy,” the state bank stressed.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of June 1, 2023, Ukreximbank ranked 3rd in terms of assets (UAH 274.04 billion) among 65 banks operating in the country. As of July 1, the network of the state bank has 48 branches across the country.

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“Ovostar” has allocated all net profit for 2022 to reserve

Agro-industrial group of companies “Ovostar Union”, one of the leading producers of eggs and egg products in Ukraine, decided to direct all net profit for 2022 in the amount of $6.087 million to the reserve of retained earnings and not to pay dividends.

According to the company’s announcement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange before the opening of trading on Monday, the relevant decision was made by the shareholders’ meeting on July 14.

At the same time, it approved the payment of an interim dividend for 2022 for EUR3.9m, which had already been made in January this year.

Other decisions of the meeting include fixing the ceiling of total remuneration to the board of directors this year at EUR0.5m and authorizing the board of directors to select an independent auditor in a tender.

Ovostar Union Group is a vertically integrated public holding company, one of the leading producers of chicken eggs and egg products in Europe. The producer has been a certified exporter to the EU since 2015.

The group’s holding company, Ovostar Union N.V., IPOed 25% of its shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in mid-June 2011 at PLN62 per share and raised $33.05 million.

On Monday, the company’s shares are listed at PLN58.5, down 1.68% since the beginning of the day. A total of 6 million shares were issued.

“Ovostar earned $8.98 million in net profit in the first quarter of 2023, while it ended the same period last year with a net loss of $16.44 million. Its revenue for the period increased by 70.7% to $47.30 million.”

Ovostar ended 2022 with a $6.09 million net profit, a 3.7 times increase from 2021. Its revenue for the past year increased 1.7% to $135.63 million.

According to the report, by the end of March 2023, Ovostar’s majority shareholder was Prime One Capital Limited – 67.93% controlled by Ovostar CEO Boris Belikov and Chairman Vitaliy Veresenko; Generali Otwarty Fundusz Emerytalny – 10.93%, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited – 9.09% and Aviva Otwarty Fundusz Emerytalny – 5.02%.

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“Naftohaz Ukrainy” ends Q1-2023 with net profit of UAH 7.7 bln

Naftogaz Ukrainy, the parent company of Naftogaz Group, made a net profit of UAH 7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2023 against a net loss of UAH 24.6 billion in the same period last year, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

“This result was possible due to a significant improvement in the financial performance of the group’s key enterprises compared to the first quarter of 2022,” said Naftogaz Group head Oleksiy Chernyshev, whose words are quoted in the report.

At the same time, the consolidated loss at the end of January-March 2023 amounted to UAH 1.395 billion against UAH 57.579 billion for the same period last year. Consolidated income from sales decreased by 23.1% (by UAH 20.626 billion) to UAH 68.54 billion. Gross consolidated loss amounted to UAH 12.097 billion against UAH 34.156 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

According to data reflected in the consolidated financial statements of Naftogaz Group for January-March 2023, the group’s consolidated operating profit in the period amounted to UAH 3.42 billion, while in the first quarter of last year the group had a consolidated operating loss of UAH 57.032 billion.

“The generation of operating profit is an important indicator of business consistency. This is a significant achievement, given the war and the starting positions from which we started work,” Chernyshev emphasized.

As explained in Naftogaz, the statements also show that the main reportable segments of the group showed net operating profit for the first quarter of 2023.

“The group’s enterprises that ensure fulfillment of special obligations (SOO, provision on special obligations – IF), supplying natural gas to socially sensitive categories of consumers, also significantly improved the level of cash collection for gas supplied,” the press release said.

This allowed the enterprises to significantly improve the operating financial result: losses in the mentioned reporting period amounted to only UAH 6.3 billion compared to UAH 33 billion of losses in the first quarter of 2022, the report said.

“It should also be added that during January-March 2023 to the consolidated budget of Ukraine enterprises of Naftogaz group paid taxes in the amount of UAH 26 billion, which is more than 7% of all tax revenues of the state for the corresponding period”, – added in the company.

At the same time, in April 2023, the group successfully completed the 2022/2023 heating season under the PCP without receiving any additional funding from the state.

“Moreover, even without additional support, the group not only retains, but increases the production of Ukrainian gas under war conditions,” Naftogaz noted.

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“Verallia Ukraine” received more than 91 mln hryvnia in net profit

Glass packaging manufacturer “Verallia Ukraine” (village Zarya, Rivne region), a subsidiary of French Verallia, in January-March this year received a net profit of 91.06 million UAH against a loss of 84.64 million UAH for the same period in 2022.
According to the company’s quarterly report released Tuesday in the National Securities and Stock Market Commission’s (NSSMC) information disclosure system, the company’s net income rose 46.5 percent to UAH 636.04 million.
“During the first quarter of 2023, Verallia Ukraine continued its core business despite the martial law, mobilization of a significant number of employees and active hostilities in the country, and did not lose its position in the glassware market in Ukraine. In particular, in the first quarter it began to gradually increase the number of products manufactured,” the company noted.
According to the report, the gross profit of the company for the specified reporting period amounted to 201.7 million UAH against a loss of 42.61 million UAH in the first quarter of 2022, while operating profit was 164.31 million UAH (a loss of 67.81 million UAH).
PJSC “Verallia Ukraine” produces glass containers for alcoholic beverages and food, the company employs over 480 people.
The immediate parent company is German Verallia Deutschland, while the actual control is exercised by Verallia Packading.
According to the company’s website, in early April of this year, thanks to partners and the Verallia Group, it restarted a furnace that had been in continuous operation since 2016, but was controlled shut down in February 2022 with the start of a full-scale war.
“After the refurbishment of the glass shop, production was started with orders for key customers such as Nemiroff, Bayadera and Lutskfoods. We see that the Ukrainian market began to recover, and our partners are in urgent need of high-quality glass, so we restore production of the Selective Line premium line and positions of larger sizes, up to 1.75 liters,” – noted in a statement on the website.
According to Verallia Ukraine’s annual report on the company’s website, last year it posted a loss of UAH 37.21 million against a net profit of UAH 19.13 million a year earlier, with net income up 16% to UAH 2 billion.
Verallia Group, according to its website, is a European leader and the world’s third largest producer of glass packaging for beverages and food. It has 34 glass factories, five plants for the production of décor and 12 centers for processing of glass cullet (glass products) in 12 countries, annually produces 17 billion glass bottles and cans for delivery to 10 thousand companies – from local family-owned manufacturers to large international brands.

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“Interpipe” has increased its profit by 2.6 times in Q1

The international vertically integrated steel pipe and railway wheel company Interpipe in January – March this year increased its net profit by 2.6 times against the same period last year – up to $57.142 mn from $21.779 mn.

According to the interim report of the company on the operating and financial results for the first three months of 2023, its pretax profit amounted to $74.448 million compared to $29.202 million in the first quarter of 2022.

At the same time, Interpipe in January-March 2023 increased its free cash and cash equivalents from $153.777 million on January 1, 2023 to $207.824 million on March 31, 2023 (January 1, 2022 was $109.627 million, March 31, 2022 – $165.561 million).

EBITDA in Q1-2023 amounted to $79.427 million, while in Q1-2022 it was $15.139 million.

At the same time, the company cut its revenue by 4% to $229.291 mln from $239.185 mln.

As it was reported, steel output in January-March 2023 increased by 13% to 184 thnd mt compared to January-March 2022, pipes – by 12% to 105 thnd mt, but the railway production decreased by 13% to 20 thnd mt. The sales of products decreased by 23%, to 108 thousand tons, including pipes – by 20%, to 82 thousand tons, railway products – by 27%, to 19 thousand tons, steel billets – by 50%, to 6 thousand tons.

Net leverage ratio strengthened to 0.7x.

At the same time, the press release noted that in early 2023, production at all Interpipe enterprises was negatively affected by tight limits on electricity consumption by industrial consumers. However, already in March the situation improved due to removal of these restrictions.

Andriy Korotkov, the general director of Interpipe, stated that starting from the middle of the quarter, the company’s plants returned to stable operation, without any “broken” schedules. This made it possible to increase production at the end of the quarter, and in some segments, for example, in the pipe division, to get somewhat closer to the pre-war level.

“Even in difficult military conditions, Interpipe continues to fulfill all orders and delivers products to customers quickly and on time. Significant support is provided by the extension of the cancellation of all quotas and duties on Ukrainian goods by the United States and the EU,” the top manager noted.

“The net profit of Interpipe in 2022 is $204.441 mln, which is 2.2 times more than for the previous year ($91.316 mln). The pre-tax profit for last year was $220.579 million compared to $110.907 million for 2021. The revenue in 2022 decreased by 13.4% to $981.330 million from $1 billion 132.9 million a year earlier. At the same time, Interpipe has increased its free cash flow from $109.627 mln to $153.777 mln during the year.

“Due to the war, in 2022, Interpipe reduced EBITDA by 11% compared to the previous year – up to $204 million. Steel output in 2022 decreased 39% to 595 thousand tons, pipes – by 36% to 393 thousand tons, railway products – by 51% to 84 thousand tons.

Sales of products in the reporting period decreased by 37%, to 524 thousand tons, including pipes – by 36%, to 384 thousand tons, railway products – by 50%, to 87 thousand tons. Its sales revenues decreased by 13% to $981 mln, while net leverage remained at a strong and stable level of 1.1x.

“Interpipe is a Ukrainian industrial company producing seamless pipes and railroad wheels. The company supplies its products to over 80 countries all over the world through a network of sales offices located in the key markets of the Middle East, North America and Europe. In 2022, the company sold 384 thnd mt of tubes and 87 thnd mt of railroad products. The company sells its railroad products under the KLW brand.

Interpipe has 10 000 employees. In 2022 the company transferred 2.8 billion hryvnias to the budgets of all levels.

The company has five industrial assets: “Interpipe Nizhnedniprovsk Tube Rolling Plant (NTZ)”, “Interpipe Novomoskovsk Tube Plant (NMTZ)”, “Interpipe Niko-Tube”, “Dnepropetrovsk Vtormet” and the electric steelmaking complex “Dneprostal” under the “Interpipe Steel” brand.

The ultimate owner of Interpipe Limited is Ukrainian businessman Viktor Pinchuk and his family members.

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“Kernel” posted $69 million in net profit

“Kernel, one of Ukraine’s largest agro-industrial groups, in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023 (FY, January-March 2023), earned $69 million in net profit, while it ended the same period last year with a net loss of $103 million.
According to a financial report on the company’s Web site, the agriholding’s revenue fell 51 percent to $825 million in the reporting period.
EBITDA for the third quarter of 2023FY was $155 million, compared to a negative $32 million in 2022FY.
Compared to the previous quarter, net income decreased by 67%, EBITDA – by 44%, and revenue – by 33%, Kernel said.
Agroholding attributed this decrease to a decrease in both volumes and prices.
The company added that the net change in fair value of biological assets resulted in a loss of $11 million in January-March 2023, compared to a loss of $74 million in the same period the previous year.
“Kernel also recognized a $20 million asset impairment loss in the third quarter of fiscal 2023.
It is specified that in the structure of EBITDA the segment of infrastructure and trade in the third quarter of FY 2023 decreased by 32% year-on-year to $71 million, but was higher by 15% quarter-on-quarter, which was facilitated by a high trade markup on grain of Ukrainian origin.
Due to a decrease in world prices for grains and oilseeds in January-March 2023, the agriculture segment posted a $24 million loss in the reporting period.
According to the report, Kernel managed to reduce its net debt to $833 million as of March 31 this year from $1.048 billion at the beginning of the year and $1.715 billion at the end of March last year.
At the same time, agricultural stocks decreased to $497 million from $593 million and $1.181 billion, respectively.
Overall, Kernel increased its net profit by 36% YoY to $437 mln and EBITDA by 11% while revenues decreased by 45% to $2.715 bln in 9M2003.
As reported, Kernel ended FY2022 with a net loss of $41 million compared to $506 million in net income in the previous fiscal year on revenue down 5% to $5.332 billion.

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