According to the official report released by the holding, Astarta ended first quarter of 2014 with total sales revenue of USD 122.5 million, a 9.5% growth rate, compared to the same period in 2013. Cost of sales, as indicated in the report, have grown at faster rate of 10.5% to USD 90.3 million. Gain from revaluation of biological assets provided company with additional USD 24.1 million, bumping gross profit to USD 56.3 million, a 54.1% increase compared to same period of last year. However, company’s operational expenses have risen by 101.7% to USD 15.9 million as financial expenses grew even higher to USD 101.7 million, a whopping 1 268.8% increase compared to 2013 level. Company ended first quarter of 2014 with net loss of USD 61.3 million. Alex Morgun, financial analyst of UkrAgroConsult noted that the main challenge most agrarian holdings in Ukraine will face in 2014 (aside from geopolitical and country risks) is repayment of interest on debt, which was accumulated during previous years of growth and expansion. Bearish tendencies in agrarian markets contribute to slower growth for these companies, which will shift their focus from expansive strategies towards effectiveness and efficiency maximization.

UkrAgroConsult has completed review and recommendations study on investing in Ukrainian Agrarian Sector. You can follow this link to find out more about the study “How to profit from Ukraine’s agricultural sector?”. 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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