UKRAINE: MHP profit drops despite sales lift

By: just-food.com | 19 November 2009

Agro-industrial company MHP saw a drop in profit for the first nine months of the year, despite a 25% increase in sales.

For the nine months ended 30 September, net income decreased by 11% to UAH791m (US$97.1m). In US dollars, income dropped 43% to $103m as a result of non-cash foreign exchange losses.

Revenue, however, reached UAH3.33bn from UAH3.14bn in the previous year. In US dollars, revenue dropped by 21% to $502m

Consolidated EBITDA margin increased slightly to 39% from 38% in the prior year, while EBITDA increased 27% year-on-year to reach UAH1.52bn and in dollar terms dropped 19% to $197m.

"We continue to focus on increasing shareholder value by growing our chicken production volumes, managing our costs and expanding our agricultural land bank," said Yuriy Kosyuk, CEO of MHP.

"High consumer demand, record breaking yields across all crops, our focus on vertical integration and our ability to control costs makes us confident that the strong performance in the nine months will continue into final quarter of the year and beyond."

The company said demand for chicken meat during the nine months of 2009 remained high as consumers continued to substitute other meats with locally-produced chicken. As a result, MHP was able to sell close to 100% of the chicken produced.

Sectors: Emerging markets, Meat & poultry, Seafood

Companies: MHP