Page 69 - UKRRptDec19

sales of its agricultural segment (up 104% y/y to EUR 155.5mn) and soybean segment (up 15% y/y to EUR 61.5mn).​ ​At the same time, the revenue of its sugar segment decreased 10% y/y to EUR 86.8mn. The company’s EBITDA fell 33% y/y to EUR 45.5mn, which was mainly the result of a smaller revaluation of its agricultural produce: its revaluation plunged 57% y/y to EUR 24.0mn in 9M19, which resulted in farming EBITDA dropping 57% y/y to EUR 28.7mn. EBITDA in its soybean segment increased 29% y/y (to EUR 5.9mn) and in its sugar segment rose 4% y/y (to EUR 3.9mn) in 9M19. Improved sugar EBITDA was solely the result of sales and distribution costs declining by 37% y/y to EUR 6.4mn. The company’s net profit plummeted 70% y/y to EUR 4.3mn. Astarta boosted its cash generation from operating activity to EUR 124.9mn in 9M19, up from EUR 8.1mn a year ago. This was mostly the result of plunging inventories: operating cash flow before working capital changes reached only EUR 22.3mn (still 55% better than a year ago). Astarta’s net debt (excluding lease obligations) stood at EUR 164.6mn as of end-9M19, which was a 14% y/y decrease. The company’s ratio of net debt to LTM EBITDA reached 4.8x as of September 2019, up from 2.5x as of September 2018 and 3.8x as of December 2018. With such leverage, the company continues to breach debt covenants, but expects that such breaches will be waived, the report said.
● MHP
MHP​ reported 3Q19 IFRS results on November 19​. Revenues climbed 27% y/y to $560mn, mainly thanks to the recent acquisition of Perutnina Ptuj. Export sales were $317mn, accounting for 57% of revenues (compared with $275mn and 62% in 3Q18). Poultry segment profitability took a minor hit from a decreased average selling price for chicken, so cash EBITDA per kilogram of chicken meat (adjusted for revaluation of biological assets) decreased a slight 2% y/y to $0.49 in 3Q19, but that was still up from $0.46 in 2Q19. Thanks to higher sales volumes, the segment's cash EBITDA increased 2% to $82mn, for a 24% margin (in line with 3Q18). Grain segment revenues came in at $174mn in 9m19, up from $84mn in 9m18, mainly thanks to larger crop stockpiles, the result of strong crop yields in the previous year. Segment cash EBITDA decreased 5% y/y to $63mn in 9m19 adjusted for the effect of IFRS 16 (in terms of accounting for operating leases). The recently acquired Perutnina Ptuj was represented separately as the "European operating segment." It generated cash EBITDA of $13mn in 3Q19, for a 15% margin. MHP's consolidated cash EBITDA amounted to $108mn in 3Q19, down from $117mn in 3Q18. Thanks to an FX gain of $109mn (in contrast to an $88mn loss a year before), accounting net income came in at $104mn, while cash net income was $127mn. Following the Perutnina Ptuj acquisition, net debt was $1.3bn at end-3Q19, up from $1.1bn at end-2018. Net debt/LTM EBITDA was 2.96, below the Eurobond covenant limit of 3.0.
Moody’s raises​ M​ HP​ rating outlook to Positive. ​Moody's announced on Nov. 26 it has raised the corporate family rating outlook for MHP (MHPSA) to Positive from Stable and affirmed its rating at B3. The agency noted that its Positive outlook is now in line with its upgraded outlook on Ukraine’s sovereign rating, in addition to its expectations of MHP’s strong operating and financial performance. Moody’s last upgraded MHP's rating to B3, one notch above Ukraine’s sovereign on Jan. 3, 2019.
● Other
69​ UKRAINE Country Report​ December 201 ​ ​www.intellinews.com