Page 59 - UKRRptJuly18

(or 52.4% y/y to 6.4 US cents per unit) in the first quarter of 2018 Export volumes of shell eggs surged 6.7-fold to 200mn units (a 7.8% q/q decrease) in January-March. Also, the company sold 1.65 tonnes of dry egg products, a 39.0% y/y increase (or 56.6% q/q). Export sales of dry egg product rose 27.2% y/y to 1.4 tonnes (a 77.1% q/q improvement). The average selling price of dry egg product dropped 27.9% y/y to $3.8 per kg (a 3.3% q/q increase). In addition, the company conducted grain trading operations that contributed $1.1mn to the first quarter's revenue (the company's grain trading operations contributed $8.0nm in the first quarter of 2017). Avangardco’s operating cash flow before working capital changes turned to positive $9.7mn from negative $1.5mn year ago, while working capital cash outflow was $2.9mn in January-March (vs. cash inflow of $5.7mn a year ago). The company’s total debt rose 2.1% YTD to $373.7mn as of end-March, and its net debt increased 0.16% YTD to $348.4mn. Also, the company reported that it is still in discussions with creditor groups on the restructuring of its Eurobonds and the latest failed coupon payment. Avangardco’s Ebitda turned negative in January-March due to the revaluation of biological assets by $9.1mn.
The Swiss banking group Julius Baer Group Ltd. has built up a 6.22% stake in Ukraine’s leading sunflower oil producer Kernel , the farmer said in a report published on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) on June 28. According to the report, Kairos Investment Management SpA, the structures affiliated with the bank and the funds controlled by it became the direct owner of the securities acquiring 5,098,297 shares. The transaction took place on June 8. Kernel's Ebitda declined by 30.7% year-on-year to $196.2nm in 9MFY18, according to its quarterly earnings report released in May. The plunge was driven by its sunflower oil segment, where Ebitda fell 24.9% y/y to $58.5mn (the Ebitda margin in sunflower oil sold in bulk decreased 36.6% y/y to $52.4 per tonne), and its farming segment, where Ebitda plunged 61.4% y/y to $52.2nm.
Ebitda of Ukraine's largest agricultural company Ukrlandfarming slid by 44% year-on-year to $91mn in 2017 , according to the company’s audited financial report. Ukrlandfarming's net revenue fell 31% y/y to $658mn in 2017. The result was driven mostly by a 45% y/y decline in revenue from its distribution segment (distribution of machinery and agricultural raw materials) to $157mn. In its core segment, crop production, revenue decreased 20% y/y to $278mn. The company’s land bank under operation decreased 5.8% y/y to 570,000 ha as of end-2017. The company’s gross profit dropped 67% y/y to $62.6mn in 2017, while its bottom line improved slightly to negative $158.6mn. Ukrlandfarming’s operating cash flow before working capital changes fell 58% y/y to $81.6mn and net cash generated from operations (before payment of coupons on bonds) plummeted 80% y/y to $11mn. Its net cash outflow for investment plunged 81% y/y to just $3.8mn. The company's total debt increased 5.3% y/y to $1.756bn and net debt rose 5.9% y/y to $1.682bn as of end-2017, implying a net debt-to-Ebitda ratio of 18.5-fold (up from 9.8-fold a year before). "The company’s 2017 results turned out to be weaker than in its financial model confirmed by auditors and presented in late 2017 to some creditors," Alexander Paraschiy at Kyiv-based brokerage Concorde Capital wrote in a research note on June 5. "Therefore, things seem to be getting worse than the company was expecting just a year before."
Betting on farmers investing in higher yields, Grossdorf is tripling its production capacity of granular mineral fertilizers , to 100-150,000 tons a year, Interfax-Ukraine reports. Sergey Ruban, commercial director, outlined the
59 UKRAINE Country Report July 2018 www.intellinews.com