Page 11 - FSUOGM Week 10 2023

FSUOGM PERFORMANCE FSUOGM

Ukraine’s Naftogaz makes $1bn

loss in 2022

UKRAINE ACCORDING to the chairman of Naftogaz, receivable into a working asset.
Oleksiy Chernyshov, the company has recorded Chernyshov expressed confidence in Naf-
Naftogaz is confident a preliminary net loss of around UAH40bn togaz's ability to successfully restructure its
it can restructure ($1.1bn) for the year 2022, Interfax Ukraine eurobonds 2022 and 2026. Although the com-
its 2022 and 2026 reported on March 2. pany is currently in default with respect to
eurobonds. During a Forbes Business Breakfast stream, eurobonds and certain obligations, it is offering
he revealed that unprofitable activity was mostly bondholders interesting restructuring condi-
due to significant receivables that arose after the tions. Chernyshov believes that these conditions,
state used Naftogaz's working capital to meet the combined with additional payments, will moti-
energy supply needs of consumers. vate bondholders to go for the restructuring. He
Chernyshov said that the company's receiv- sees no issues in achieving this.
ables comprise three components, namely the Naftogaz Ukrainy, a state-owned company,
tariff difference (UAH36bn), the debt of regional has been struggling to balance its books. Despite
gas suppliers and gas distribution companies its consistent efforts to improve the situation,
(UAH76bn), and public service obligations Naftogaz's financial performance remains a con-
(PSO) for 2022-2023 (UAH158bn). He added cern. The company has been working on restruc-
that the company is implementing a restructur- turing its operations to enhance its efficiency and
ing process to convert non-performing accounts boost profitability. ™

POLICY

EU trade deficit with Russia

at third of pre-war level

EUROPE THE EU’s trade deficit with Russia slumped in and steel.
December to a third of its pre-war level, reflect- Russia’s share of the EU’s coal imports con-
Coal, gas and oil are the ing the sharp decline in imports of coal, gas and tracted to 22% last year from 45% in 2021, while
key products of trade oil, the bloc’s statistics agency Eurostat reported for natural gas it slumped to 21% from 36%. The
between the two sides. on March 3. share of oil shrank to 21% from 28%.
Russia has drastically cut gas supplies to the The US has been among the main benefac-
EU over the past year in an effort to squeeze con- tors of the severing of energy ties between Russia
cessions from the West in the Ukrainian conflict. and the EU. Imports of LNG, coal and crude oil
Meanwhile, Brussels introduced embargoes on from the US East Coast soared by 87.7%, 85.4%
Russian coal last summer and seaborne Russian and 64.6% respectively in the April-June period
crude oil at the start of December. of last year, versus the same period of 2021. The
The deficit in December amounted to €6bn US also became the EU’s largest maritime freight
($3.7bn), versus €18.2bn in March last year, partner.
when trade between the two sides hit a peak. The deficit is likely to get even smaller mov-
Commerce with Russia has slumped as the EU ing forward, following the EU’s introduction of
introduced import and export restrictions on an embargo on Russian oil product imports in
various products in a series of sanctions pack- February. ™
ages over the past year, Eurostat said.
“The effects of these measures have been par-
ticularly visible in the last months,” Eurostat said.
Russia’s share of the bloc’s imports dropped
to 4.3% in December from 9.5% in February last
year, while the EU's share of Russian imports
halved to 2% from 4%, according to Eurostat.
Besides oil, gas and coal, other key goods traded
between the two parties include fertilisers, iron

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