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had been agreed as part of the 3rd review under the EFF back in April 2017.”
2.4 IMF deal ensure macro economic stability
New IMF program ensures government liquidity through end-2019 and stable NBU reserve
Leading Ukrainian egg producer Ovostar Union boosted net profit 1.7-fold in January-September 2018 to $13.85mn, the company reported on November 15. Revenue also grew 1.6-fold to $94.66mn, according to the company filing with the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). Revenues from shell eggs sales grew 1.6-fold over the period to $67.77mn and revenue from egg goods sales half (47.5%) to $26.9mn. The company’s gross profit rose 1.6-fold to $23.66mn, operating profit 1.5-fold to $15.18mn and EBITDA by 42%, to $17.3mn, according to the filing. As of September 30, 2018, total numbers of hens in the company fell by 7.6% year-over-year, to 7.3mn heads and laying hens– by 4.4%, to 6.5mn heads.
The pre-announced launch of the new $3.9bn IMF stand-by program instils confidence that Ukraine’s external position will remain manageable in the near future.
Ukraine regained access to global debt markets by placing $2bn in Eurobonds, albeit at unfavourable rates of 9.0% for 5Y paper and 9.75% for 10Y paper. The proceeds allowed Ukraine to immediately repay a $725mn bridge loan.
The government’s decision to yield to the IMF’s request and swiftly implement the program’s prior actions, including the gas price hike, is a sign they were sceptical about the country’s ability to smoothly navigate the election cycle without IFI support.
The delay of the socially painful gas hike until 5 months before the presidential election will have consequences; this same decision made 18 months ago may have gone unnoticed and any negative political effects would have fully faded
10 UKRAINE Country Report December 2018 www.intellinews.com