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to restructure the due repayment, S&P concluded. Ukrainian Railways is working on different refinancing options “but has not yet secured refinancing for its immediate maturity,” S&P stated. The agency noted that the company “has advanced in negotiations with some local banks and one international financial institution,” though it does not rule out delays in the process.
FlixBus inaugurated a 30-hour, 2,300 km bus route – from Lviv to Montpellier, on France’s Mediterranean coast. “Despite serious restrictions for travelers, economic and social ties between Ukraine and Europe are strong today,” said Michal Leman, regional director for the Munich-based bus company. “We see the potential for international travel and continue to develop the Ukrainian network.”
UIA lost $161mn last year, a sharp reversal from $60mn profit in 2019, the company reported to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission in advance of the airline’s May 28 2021 shareholders meeting. Accounts receivable almost doubled, to $80mn. UIA says it refunded passengers $26.5mn for unused tickets between April 2020 and January 2021.
9.2.5 Retail corporate news
ATB supermarket chain plans to invest $410mn in its expansion in the Ukrainian market this year, said Boris Markov, ATB General Director, in a company press release. Claiming to be Ukraine’s fastest growing supermarket chain, ATB said that it invested $370mn in its expansion during 2020, opening 127 new stores. Its retail network extends to all 24 regions of Ukraine, and ATB has a total of 1,216 stores in 313 towns and cities. The company has estimated that 4mn Ukrainians – more than 10% of Ukraine’s adults population – shop at ATB.
9.2.6 Agriculture corporate news
● Kernel
The EBRD is also lending $57mn to the Kernel Group to improve the storage, transportation and export of agricultural commodities, the bank reported in a press release. The loan is part of a $200mn syndication arranged by French investment bank Natixis for Kernel, the world's leading producer and exporter of sunflower oil. The EBRD announced: “The new financing will help the group enter the new harvest season with sufficient working capital to buy crops and prepare them for export, making full use of its newly expanded infrastructure.”
● Astarta Holding
Ukraine’s leading sugar producer and farmer Astarta percentage decreased sugar sales 25% y/y to 58.1 kt in 1Q21, according to its April 16 trading update. Sugar prices increased 66% y/y to UAH16.1/kg in the quarter. Soybean oil and meal prices increased by roughly the same amount (up 69% and 72% y/y in UAHterms, respectively) as volumes of oil increased 13% y/y to 12.6 kt and volumes of meal decreased 15% y/y to 39.8 kt.
Its volume of key crop sales (corn, wheat and sunflower) decreased 67% y/y 80.1 kt, but their average price increased 33% y/y (in UAHterms) in 1Q21. Its volumes of milk sales increased 2% y/y to 24.2 kt and milk prices increased
72 UKRAINE Country Report May 2021 www.intellinews.com