Ovostar intends retain all 2023 earnings

MOSCOW. July 29 (Interfax) - Ukrainian agricultural holding Ovostar is proposing that shareholders at their annual meeting on August 21 vote to waive dividends for 2023 and retain all net profit of $44.975 million, Ukrainian media reported, quoting a company filing with the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Other items on the agenda will include the re-election of Markiyan Markevich, one of the three non-executive directors of Ovostar.

The company last made payments to shareholders at the end of 2022, paying interim dividends of 3.6 million euros at 0.65 euros per share. The company waived dividends for the full year 2022.

Ovostar is a vertically integrated agribusiness that is one of Ukraine's largest producers of eggs and egg products. The group's net profit soared 640% to $45 million and EBITDA jumped 350% to $50.4 million in 2023 on revenue up 20% to $162.5 million.

The group's holding company, Ovostar Union N.V. raised $33.2 million in an IPO on the WSE in June 2011, selling 25% of its shares at PLN62 ($22.78 at the exchange rate at the time) per share.

At the end of May the majority shareholders of Ovostar CEO Boris Belikov and board member Vitaly Veresenko, together with the Canadian Fairfax Financial Holdings, had accumulated 95.45% of the shares of the agricultural holding and decided to buy the remaining 4.55% at a price of PLN 70 per share (about $17.5). They bought 56,027 shares or 0.934% of capital and now own 96.383%.

"The offerors intend to exercise the squeeze out right to acquire 100% of the shares of the Company at the price of PLN 70 per share, the company said at the beginning of July, recalling that it planned to delist from the stock exchange.

Ovostar is currently being quoted at PLN 68.8 per share on the WSE.