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The disclosure of 1H20 results is expected around mid-September, management said on the call.
Ukraine export prices for railway products sold mostly by Ukraine’s largest producer​ ​Interpipe​ were $1,581/t in March, 11% lower m/m ​and 4% less y/y, according to our analysis of State Statistics data released on June 19. Recall, these prices ​fell 4% m/m in January​ after rising for more than a year, and lost a further ​10% m/m in February​ and ​3% m/m in March​.
● Ferrexport
Kostyantin Zhevago, the majority owner and former CEO of Ukraine’s largest iron ore pellet exporter Ferrexpo (FXPO LN), was allowed to be arrested, the ​censor.net.ua​ news site said on June 10. ​The report said the decision was made that day by an investigating judge of the Pechersk district court of Kyiv, citing Oleksandr Babikov, the first deputy head of the State Bureau of Investigations (DBR) of Ukraine. The Pechersk district court selected detention as a pre-trial measure for Zhevago necessary for his arrest, according to a June 10 report by Interfax-Ukraine, which cited its anonymous sources in the DBR. Recall, on ​May 25, an appellate court overturned​ the first ruling to arrest Zhevago in absentia. That first arrest ruling was related to a criminal investigation into the ​alle​ged embezzlement of $113mn from the failed F&C Bank​. The appellate court said it based its ruling on Zhevago not having been placed on international search by Interpol and, therefore, this necessary condition to arrest him in absentia had not been met. It is not clear at the moment whether Zhevago has been placed on international search, and if not, whether the June 10 ruling to allow for his arrest was proper under Ukrainian legislation.
The Kyiv Court of Appeal ruled on June 2 to cancel a restriction on a 50.3% stake in the shares of Ferrexpo Poltava Mining (FPM​), the main production asset of Ferrexpo plc (FXPO LN), the company said in a June 3 statement.​ ​ ​ W​ ith its ruling, the court satisfied an appeal by Ferrexpo AG, the owner of 100% of FPM, against an earlier decision to put a restriction on 50.3% of FPM shares, which ​Ferrexpo reported on January 31​.​ ​ ​ ​Recall, in December the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) ​obtained an enforcement order to recover UAH1.54bn​ ($60mn) from company founder Kostyantin Zhevago in relation to his personal commitment to repay an NBU refinancing loan to failed F&C Bank.​ ​ ​ ​Zhevago owns a 50.3% stake in Ferrexpo plc, and Ferrexpo AG is 100% owned by Ferrexpo plc.
S&P announced on June 2 it was lowering the long-term credit rating of iron ore miner and pellet maker​ ​Ferrexpo​ to B- from B, keeping the outlook at Negative. ​Corporate governance issues were the main rationale for the rating downgrade, S&P said. The negative outlook indicates the potential for reputational damage or adverse operational or financial developments, according to the agency.​ ​S&P mentioned three developments in its report. Firstly, in March Ferrexpo ​revealed another internal inquiry​ related to the possible misappropriation of funds, this time by football club (FC) Vorskla. The agency sees a risk of Ukrainian or other authorities launching an investigation into the FC Vorskla matter that could increase reputational risk and would have a material financial impact or adverse consequences for operations. If such an investigation is launched, S&P might further lower its Ferrexpo rating. Furthermore, the agency does not accept at face value Ferrexpo management's conviction that such cases of potential funds misappropriation
80​ UKRAINE Country Report​ July 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com