Ukraine's Ovostar to replenish working capital with 2021 profits

MOSCOW. Aug 9 (Interfax) - Agro-industrial group of companies Ovostar Union, a leading producer of eggs and egg products in Ukraine, will not pay dividends for 2021, but instead direct last year's net profit of $1.65 million toward replenishing working capital.

Ovostar said in a statement posted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange that the company's shareholders approved distribution of profits at their annual meeting on August 3.

They also decided to limit overall compensation to the members of the board of directors for 2022 to 500,000 euros.

Ovostar had a net profit of $1.65 million in 2021, down 38% from 2020, while EBITDA fell 29% to $5.7 million and revenue rose 35% to $133.3 million.

Ovostar increased egg sales 8% to 1.15 billion and production 1% to 1.69 billion in 2021. Exports fell 24.3% to 264 million eggs. The company processed 501 million eggs, down 15% from 2020. Sales of dry egg products fell 1% to 3,240 tonnes and of liquid egg products 5% to 14,390 tonnes.

The average sale price rose 16% to $0.069 per egg, 18% per kilo of dry egg products and 22% per kilo of liquid egg products in 2021.

Ovostar Union is a vertically integrated public holding. The group's holding company, Ovostar Union N.V., held an initial public offering of 25% of shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in mid-June 2011, bringing in $33.2 million. Ovostar Union is majority-owned by Prime One Capital Limited controlled by Ovostar CEO Boris Belikov and Vitaly Veresenko, chairman of the board of directors.