According to the official statement released on agency’s official website, S&P lowered ratings of Mriya, MHP, Kreativ and Ukrainskiye Investicii to CCC+, down from B- with negative outlook. Financial risks of the companies were set to “high” since there is a possibility of Ukrainian government requiring revenues obtained by the companies in USD to be converted in UAH. While 2013 was marked with slower growth rates of financial performance for the majority of the holdings, main reason for downgrade was the downgrade of Ukraine ratings in the first place.

“As long as there is no stability in the government apparatus of Ukraine, foreign investors will remain very cautious when considering investing in Ukrainian companies” – noted financial analyst of UkrAgroConsult, Alex Morgun. While largest companies still have a chance of obtaining funds from investors, those will be adjusted for current risks, meaning higher levels of interest rates. Financial expenses such as interest payments have already been burdening for Ukrainian agro holdings, hence it is very unlikely that they will be using large volume of borrowed funds in 2014.

In case you are interested in state of agrarian sector within CIS region, please follow the link below to read UkrAgroConsult monthly report “Agrarian Business in CIS region” for January 2014 (featuring Ukraine). First issue is free of charge. You can subscribe to the report to receive it on a monthly basis.

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