Page 59 - UKRRptSept18

operating cash flow before working capital changes fell 76% y/y to €13.4mn and net cash generated from operations decreased 54% y/y to €28.3mn in the first half of 2018. Astarta’s debt obligations increased 33% y/y to €173.1mn and net debt swelled 2.3x y/y to €226.0mn as of end-June 2018 (largely due to an accounting policy change that includes €74.4mn in land lease obligations to Astarta’s debt). The company’s net debt/LTM EBITDA ratio reached 2.68x as of end-June 2018. Net of land lease obligations, its net debt/LTM EBITDA ratio reached 1.80x (up from 1.08x as of end-December 2017 and 0.71x as of end-June 2017). “The company’s the first half of 2018 revenue was almost in line with our estimate of €176.1mn, while its EBITDA and operating cash flow before working capital changes are disappointing. In particular, its semi-annual EBITDA is at the lowest level since 2010,” Alexander Paraschiy of Concorde Capital said in a note. “With such results in hand, we see Astarta’s full-year EBITDA will be between $70mn and $78mn, or 35%-41% less y/y. As the company’s balance sheet remains strong, we see no concerns about the company’s long-term value growth. But with weak global sugar prices, Astarta will have weak P&L in the near-term that is likely to depress its stock price,” Paraschiy added.
Ukraine's battered farming holding Mriya , which defaulted on $1.1bn debt in 2014, has secured the restructuring of its debt , which entailed the reduction of its total debt burden from $1.1bn to $309.5mn, the company said in a statement on August 21. The company's total debt burden will include $49.3mn of restructured secured debt, $208.1mn of restructured unsecured debt, $46mn of working capital, and $6.1mn of new leasing programs for the purchase of equipment. "We have successfully completed the complicated, unprecedented and unique process of Mriya's debt restructuring that has taken us more than three years," Interfax news agency quoted Mriya's CEO Simon Cherniavsky as saying. "As a result, we have managed to restructure 13 unsecured bank credits, seven suppliers' credits, one ECP programme and two issues of eurobonds in one single secured debt instrument." The farmer will be serving the restructured unsecured debt according to the agreed schedule of interest and principal payments of the new senior secured notes issued in accordance with the terms of the exchange offer," the company added in the statement without specifying other details. The company was founded in 1992 by Ukrainian residents Ivan and Klavdiya Huta. In 2015, Interpol put the former director and co-owner of Mriya agroholding Mykola Huta on its international wanted list. The Ukrainian authorities suspect him of a large-scale fraud, which led to the company's default on its debts. In 2017, Mriya said that it has reached an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on the conditions for the restructuring Mriya’s debt owed to IFC. The two sides agreed to split the debt into a secured and an unsecured portion, as well as terms for restructuring the secured part of the debt. The unsecured portion of Mriya’s debt to IFC will be restructured on the same terms as for other unsecured creditors. The agreement with IFC completed the process of agreeing debt restructuring terms with Mriya’s secured creditors, after which the company will be able to begin restructuring the unsecured debt on substantially the same terms agreed in autumn 2016.
9.2.9 Utilities corporate news
Ukrainian businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky has completed a 18MW solar power plant in the Kherson region, the businessman said on his Facebook page, reports Interfax. The plant is owned by UDP Renewables, part of
59 UKRAINE Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com