Page 53 - UKRRptJan22

Additional special dividends might be considered by the company’s board.
Ukrainian sunflower oil producer and grain trader Kernel (KER PW, KERPW) will pay a dividend of $0.44 per share for FY21 on February 15, the company announced in a regulatory filing on January 4.
The record date for the payment will be February 8. The dividend payment will be subject to deduction of Luxembourg withholding tax at a rate of 15%. The total amount to be distributed to shareholders will be $35.6mn (vs. $35.3mn paid for FY20), and the total number of shares with dividend rights amounts to 80.8mn, according to the filing.
Recall, Kernel spent $49mn on buying back, via a tender, 3.23mn of its shares in September under its 2-year $250mn program to buy back up to 19.2mn of its shares. The second buyback tender, announced in October, resulted in no offers from the shareholders.
Kernel had $534mn of cash on its balance sheet at end-September. In December, Kernel spent about $215mn on an early redemption of its Eurobond that was due in January 2022.
8.4 International ratings
Ukraine’s credit ratings have been improving but the country is still rated junk by the three main agencies.
Moody’s rates Ukraine at Caa1 with stable outlook on its foreign currency debt. The local debt is also rated at Caa1.
Moody’s last upgraded Ukraine from Caa2 (Positive) in August 2017 as the country emerged from an economic meltdown that year. The lowest rating the country had was Ca (Negative) in March 2015 in the wake of the Euromaidan protests that ousted president Viktor Yanukovych. The highest the country has scored was B1 (positive) in August 2008 as the entire region boomed before the global financial crisis struck that autumn.
53 UKRAINE Country Report January 2022 www.intellinews.com