Daily monitor

Yesterday the Interbank currency market experienced a sharp appreciation of hryvnya from 6.5/7.0 in the beginning of the day to 6.0/6.4 at the session closure, as the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) intervened with a USD sellout at the 5.95 UAH per USD level.

For the period January-September 2008, the Closed Joint Stock Company “Borshchagivskiy Chemical Pharmaceutical Plant” (BCPP) increased its net income by 64.2% YoY to UAH 17.3 mln. Net Sales increased by 26.7% YoY, up to UAH 212 mln. According to results from 3Q2008 along, BCPP posted a net income of UAH 3.13 mln. In comparison, the same period in 2007 saw the company post a 0.04 net loss. The company’s long-term liabilities are UAH 28.9 mln.

Stakhaniv Railcar Works [SVGZ UZ, BUY], one of the largest wagon producers in Ukraine and part of the AvtoKrAZ holding, has announced that it will double its statutory capital to UAH 79.236 mln, according to Interfax-Ukraine. This decision was made at a general meeting of the company's shareholders, which took place on October 6. At that time, they approved the results concerning the additionally-issued shares and corresponding amendments to the statute. In total, the number of shares placed equals 37,731,585 shares, each of which has a face value of UAH 1.05.

Luganskteplovoz [LTPL UZ, U/R], one of the largest locomotives producers in Ukraine and the CIS, announced that the company decided to cut back its working days from five to three as of November 1. The main reason cited for this decision is the significant decrease in production output that is now occurring for the plant. According to company officials, LTPL has problems with access to loans, which are required for the company’s supporting operations.

Azovmash ended the period July-September with a net profit of UAH 0.601 million, according to a press release issued by the company. The company's net income dropped 20.36% or UAH 4.88 mln to reach UAH 19.087 mln in 3Q2008, compared to 2Q2008. In comparison to 3Q2007, however, Azovmash’s net income grew 46.13% or UAH 6.025 mln to UAH 19.087 mln in 2Q2008.

Domestic wheat prices in Ukraine are following the global downgrading trend, reaching USD 136.8 per mt of industrial wheat (-53% MoM). As for coarse grain, prices began their downfall much earlier and have reached their lowest marks in three years. Prices for fodder wheat slipped to USD 105.3 (-12% MoM), while corn ended up at USD 87.7 (-33% MoM).

Cement output in September decreased by 6.2% MoM; however, considering the results for Jan-Aug, cement producers increased output by 8% up to 10.6 mln metric tons.

Azovmash – a Ukrainian freight car manufacturer and a leader in the machine-building industry –has obtained a USD 15 mln loan from the Raiffeisen Bank Aval [BAVL UZ, U/R], according to a press release issued by the bank.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its long-term counterparty credit ratings on Alfa-Bank Ukraine, JSC Kredobank [ZUKB UZ, U/R], and Ukrsotsbank [UCSB UZ, U/R] to 'B' from 'B+' and removed them from CreditWatch where they were placed with negative implications on October 16, 2008.

The largest Ukrainian turbine producer, Turboatom [TATM UZ, HOLD], increased its Net Revenue in 3Q2008 to USD 19.6 mln. This amount is 7.13% more than the Net Revenue for the same period a year ago. Net Income for this period increased to USD 1.2 mln, which is +425% QoQ; however, it also translates to -12.6% YoY.