Page 76 - UKRRptSept19

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Ovostar egg production slides 0.6% y/y in 1H19. Ukraine egg producer Ovostar Union (OVO PW) reported that its 1H19 shell egg production slid 0.6% y/y to 782mn units, according to its July 22 trading update. The company’s total hen flock rose 2.7% y/y to 7.6mn and the laying hen flock increased 4.8% y/y to 6.5mn. The company’s shell egg sales declined 10.2% y/y to 610mn units and its egg export volume increased 14% y/y to 335mn units in 1H19. Its shell egg prices declined 9% y/y to $0.063/unit in 1H19. Ovostar processed 293mn eggs and sold 7,035 t of liquid egg products (20% growth y/y) as their export volume increased 20% y/y to 3,481 t in 1H19. The sales of dry egg product decreased 26% y/y to 1,030 t and export volumes dropped 27% y/y to 714 t in 1H19.
Nibulon, the nation’s largest river shipper, is also Ukraine’s largest food exporter. In the marketing year that ended June 30, Nibulon exported company 5.2mn tons of grain and oilseeds – 27% more than in the previous marketing year. With this volume, this Mykolaiv-based company had a 9% of Ukraine’s grain and oilseeds exports. The top export was corn – 2.2mn tons. The top buyer was China – 19% of sales.
Nibulon, the nation’s largest food exporter, is building a new 4,000-ton grain elevator and oilseeds storage facility by railroad tracks in Khmylnik, Vinnytsia region. Located 65 km northwest of Vinnytsia city, the complex is the company’s latest investment in logistics, notably the creation of a small fleet of grain hopper cars and of barges and ports to move grains and oilseeds down the Dnipro to the Black Sea.
Milkiland P&L worsens, loses part of Russian assets Dairy firm Milkiland (MLK PW) reported a 0.4% y/y decrease in net revenue to €65.88mn and a 85% y/y plunge in EBITDA to €0.53mn in 1H19, according to its interim report of August 31. The company’s net loss widened 2.9x y/y to €7.28mn. Its operating cash flow before working capital changes withered 91% y/y to €0.35mn, while net cash flow from operations surged 9.4x y/y to €8.85mn, mostly due to increased payables by €8.12mn during the period. The company got a new lender for part of a syndicated loan amounting to $29.29mn (out of a total of $58.58mn) and is in talks with the new lender on restructuring this debt. Also, the creditors of its biggest Russian unit, Ostankino Dairy, have sold some of its assets (as a part of its bankruptcy procedure) for €9.5mn. As a result of the sale, Milkiland posted a €4.76mn loss from asset disposal. Meanwhile, Milkiland will lease the assets needed to operate Ostankino Dairy from the new owners. On top of that, Milkiland reported that it stopped the operations of its Polish subsidiary in August due to its weak financial results, with plans to revise its business model. We estimate the company’s net debt decreased 8.6% y/y and 4.4% YTD to €79.3mn as of end- 1H19. Milkiland’s net debt to LTM EBITDA remained almost unchanged YTD at 40.5x
Avangardco reports more weak financials in 1H19 Ukraine’s leading egg producer Avangardco (AVGR LI, AVINPU) boosted its revenue 25% y/y to $84.8mn, according to its interim report. The key driver of its revenue growth was its shell egg segment, where sales increased 44% y/y to $72.2mn. This result was achieved due to a 92% y/y rise in shell egg sales (to 1.59bn units) amid a 25% y/y decline in the average egg price (to $0.046). Meanwhile, the company’s operating losses widened 6.2x y/y to $108.4mn and net losses
76 UKRAINE Country Report September 2019 www.intellinews.com