Ukrainian sunflower oil producer Kernel not planning 2022 dividend due to losses

MOSCOW. Nov 18 (Interfax) - Kernel, Ukraine's largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, does not plan to pay dividends for the financial year ended June 2022 due to net losses, Ukrainian media said, quoting a financial report posted on the company's website.

The board of directors has recommended that shareholders vote to waive dividends at a meeting on December 20.

"The board of directors proposes that the general meeting approves the proposal to carry forward the net profit of the parent company annual accounts, non-consolidated, of $10.38 million and after allocation to the legal reserve of the company, to declare a dividend at nil for the financial year ended on June 30 2022," according to the stock exchange filing.

The shareholders are asked to approve remuneration for the financial year of $246,969 for non-executive directors and $240,000 for executive directors.

Kernel, Ukraine's largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, swung to a consolidated net loss of $41 million for the financial year ended June 2022, from profit of $506 million a year previously. Revenue decreased 5% to $5.332 billion, gross profit 28% to $652 million, operating profit 86.8% to $91 million and EBITDA 72.2% to $220 million.

Kernel approved a dividend of $0.44 per share or $37 million in total for the 2021 FY.

The largest co-owner of Kernel is Ukrainian businessman Andrei Verevsky.