Ukraine's Kernel purchases 2 ships, sells bulk carrier, 3 grain storage facilities in 2023

MOSCOW. Oct 30 (Interfax) - Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agricultural group of companies, purchased two vessels, the Rotterdam Pearl V bulk carrier and the Mavka tanker in 2023, and sold the Eneida bulk carrier and three grain elevators in 2024, Ukrainian media reported, citing the company's annual report.

The new vessels were purchased to bolster Kernel's transportation and logistics capabilities, it said.

The Rotterdam Pearl V bulk carrier Can carry up to 50,000 tonnes of grain and was purchased for $15.7 million. The Mavka tanker can carry 12,500 tonnes of sunflower. The report does not specify its price.

Kernel also owned the Eneida bulk carrier which can carry 44,000 tonnes of grain.

"We decided to sell the Eneida, one of our bulk carriers, due to its declining significance for our export operations in April 2024 amid improving market conditions in Ukraine and stabilizing deep-sea exports. The monetary gain totaled $7.4 million," the report said.

Kernel also sold several obsolete grain storage facilities for $2.8 million in the 2024 financial year. These include a floor-type grain storage in the Kharkov region and two grain storages in the Poltava region.

Kernel currently runs a network of 28 elevators with a total grain storage capacity of 2.2 million tonnes, it said.

Kernel is also the largest private grain railcar operator in Ukraine and holds 11% of the market share with 3,400 railcars. Since the beginning of the crisis, 8% of the group's railcars have remained in the territories outside of Kiev's control, but the remaining fleet is actively maintaining export operations.

The company also has its own 100 specialized rail containers for grain and meal shipping, as well as 400 tank containers and 77 rail tank cars for sunflower oil. The group operates 99 platforms for shipping containers by rail.

Kernel's technology park includes 26 tank trucks for sunflower oil and 77 trucks with trailers for grain shipping.

It is one of the largest port operators in Ukraine, whose infrastructure includes Chernomorsk-based TransBulkTerminal with an annual grain handling capacity of 8.03 million tonnes, Chernomorsk-based TGT-Oil with an annual transshipment capacity of 1.4 million tonnes of sunflower oil and a storage capacity of 97,000 tonnes, Yuzhny-based OilExportTerminal with an annual transshipment capacity of 0.5 million tonnes of sunflower oil, Reni-based Reni-Oil with 700,000 tonnes of sunflower oil per year, and Reni-based Danube Prom Agro with 0.4 million tonnes of grain, sunflower meal per year.

Kernel also has transshipment agreements with the port facilities in Romania and the Netherlands to support export operations.

Kernel is the world's largest exporter of sunflower oil and one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. The company is also involved in growing agricultural products and their sales.

Kernel posted $299 million in net profit in 2023, while the company ended the previous year with a net loss of $41 million. The agricultural holding's revenue in 2023 declined 35% to $3.455 billion, but EBITDA increased 2.5-fold to $544 million.

Kernel reduced its net profit 53% to $204 million in the first nine months of 2024, while revenue fell 4% to $2.595 billion, and its EBITDA decreased 36% to $384 million.