Ukrainian agriculture co HarvEast plans to double EBITDA in 2012
KYIV. April 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukrainian agriculture holding HarvEast plans to boost its EBITDA in 2012 to UAH 100 million (UAH 7.9879/$1 on April 4), the company's general director, Simon Chernyavsky, told the press in Kyiv Wednesday.
"Last year it [unaudited EBITDA] was UAH 49 million, but this year - it will be at least double, a minimum of UAH 100 million," he said.
The company plans to increase sales by at least 30% year-on-year in 2012, HarvEast said in a press release.
Unaudited sales revenue in 2011 was UAH 878 million, up 25% on the consolidated indicator for assets within the holding in 2010.
HarvEast plans this year to increase its gross harvest 13.4% to 465,000 tonnes, the company's first deputy general director, Dmitry Skornyakov, said.
Commenting on the structure of the crop area this year, Skornyakov said the company plans to boost wheat crops from 70,000 hectares to 80,000 hectares, while sunflower and other crops will remain at around 50,000 hectares.
HarvEast plans to reduce the barley crop area from 20,000 hectares to 12,000 hectares and for fodder crops from 40,000 hectares to 30,000 hectares, he said.
The expected loss of winter crops is 5%, Chernyavsky. "As to winter crops today around 5% definitely needs replanting. Some crops are still under question," he said. Replanting will mostly involve winter barley, he said.
The holding company plans to increase crop yield from 3.6 tonnes per hectare to 4 tonnes per hectare by upgrading agriculture equipment.
HarvEast plans to invest UAH 160 million in the purchase of new agricultural equipment, including UAH 80 million in the second half of 2012.
The company signed a 5-year leasing agreement with OTR-Leasing to the sum of $7 million to raise funds for agricultural equipment in the second half of 2011. The company investment program envisages the purchase of tillage, fodder and auxiliary machinery as well as harvest processing and storage equipment.
HarvEast raised a UAH 310 million loan in 2011 from Prominvestbank (Kyiv) and UAH 70 million from First Ukrainian International Bank (Kyiv).
HarvEast signed export contracts in the first quarter of 2012 with Inerco Tread S.A. (Switzerland) and Alfred C. Toepfer International GmbH (Germany). The first delivery of 30,000 tonnes of fodder wheat and barley has already been made in line with the contracts.
The shipments were made via Mariupol Sea Port.
"This the first experience for HarvEast Holding in terms of exporting grain because our assets have always been oriented towards the domestic market. We are of course interested in this direction and the holding plans to export up to 30% of the 2012 harevest," the release cited Chernyavsky as saying.
HarvEast was established in early March 2011 on the basis of the agriculture assets of Mariupol Ilych Irone & Steel Works. The holding operates on around 220,000 hectares and has over 30,000 heads of cattle.
Assets are located in the Donetsk, Zaporozhe, Cherkassk and Zhytomyr regions and the Crimea. The companies grow wheat, sunflower, barley, perennial herbs and maize and produce dairy products.
The SKM group and Smart Holding group are the shareholders of HarvEast Holding.
