By KYIV. Nov 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) – MHP Group, Ukraine’s largest chicken producer, increased sales of sunflower oil by 110% year-on-year to 372,760 tonnes in the first nine months of 2023.
The growth is attributed to the increase of millcake production, the use of additional crushing facilities and a change in recipe, as well as the partial restoration of logistics, according to a company filing on the London Stock Exchange.
Sales of soybean oil grew by 44% to 39,126 tonnes in the nine months.
MHP, which has for the first time devoted a separate section in its report for vegetable oil production, reported that this segment of its business increased revenue by 54% to $488 million in the first nine months of 2023 and doubled adjusted EBITDA to $71 million from $34 million a year earlier. The growth was driven by increased sales, although this was partly offset by a drop in prices in the period.
MHP earned a net profit of $122 million in the first nine months of 2023 compared to a net loss of $269 million in the same period of 2022. The group’s gross profit grew by 16% to $463 million, operating profit jumped 40% to $247 million and EBITDA rose 20% to $329 million.
MHP closed 2022 with a net loss of $231 million compared to a net profit of $393 million a year earlier. Revenue grew by 11% to $2.642 billion.
In addition to producing chicken, MHP also makes processed meat products, grows grains and produces sunflower oil. MHP’s founder, majority shareholder and CEO is Ukrainian businessman Yuriy Kosiuk.
