Ukrainian agricultural holding Ovostar to retain all 2023 earnings
MOSCOW. Aug 22 (Interfax) - Shareholders in Ukraine's Ovostar agricultural holding voted at their annual meeting 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.
The holders of 95.05% of shares took part in the meeting on August 21.
The shareholders approved the financial statements and the independent audit, and also re-elected Ovostar's non-executive director Markiyan Markevich - the company has three non-executive directors.
The shareholders set total remuneration payable to directors during 2024 at not more than 500,000 euros.
The shareholders also authorized the board of directors to hold a tender for the selection and appointment of independent auditors for the 2024 financial year and determine their remuneration.
The company last made payments to its shareholders at the end of 2022, when interim dividends of 3.6 million euros or 0.65 euros per share were paid. The company decided against paying 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 this year, the majority shareholders of Ovostar CEO Boris Belikov and board member Vitaly Veresenko, with 65.93% of shares, said that together with the Canadian Fairfax Financial Holdings, they 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 96.38%.
The majority owners of Ovostar, who have concentrated more than 95% of the shares, announced a squeeze-out of remaining minority shareholders holding 217,039 or 3.617% of shares at a price of PLN 70 or about $18.2 per share on August 21. The broker for the squeeze-out, Ipopema Securities, said the squeeze-out itself was scheduled for August 26. The Warsaw Stock Exchange said trading in the company's shares had been halted.
The buyers are Prime One Capital, owned by the Ovostar majority shareholders, namely CEO Boris Belikov and member of the board of directors Vitaly Veresenko, and Fairfax Financial Holding's Allied World National Assurance.
Ovostar has recently been quoted at PLN 68.4 ($17.3) per share on the WSE. The price fell 1.4% immediately following regulatory approval of the squeeze-out at the beginning of August.