Daily monitor

Dniprovsky Iron & Steel Works named after Dzerzhinsky, or simply Dzerzhynka [DMKD UZ, BUY], is reportedly conducting trial production tests on a brand new concaster No. 1. According to UGMK.info, the 1.5-1.7 mln mt concaster will be tuned up after the trial tests and subsequently commissioned for production.

The electricity generation company Dniproenergo [DNEN UZ, BUY], will hold an AGM on October 10. The AGM’s agenda includes approving financial results for FY2007 and the main financial and operational plans for 2008. The shareholders will also vote on changing the registrar of the company from “Ukrnaftogas”, which hindered DNEN from holding its AGM earlier this year.

The Economic Court of the Lviv Region, in reference to information provided by the state enterprise “Information Court Systems” has denied the existence of a declaration of bankruptcy for the Zhidachiv Pulp and Paper Mill [ZCPK, N/R].

According to an official press release made by the Minister of Agriculture Yuriy Melnik, the Ministry upgraded its forecast for the year’s harvested grain crops by 5.7 mln to 48.7 mln. Moreover, Ukraine is going to export 22.6 mln mt of grain in the 2008/2009 marketing period.

Astarta [AST PW, BUY] harvested 262 thsd mt of early grains on an area of 59.5 thsd ha. The average yield of winter wheat is 5.2 mt per ha (+ 51% YoY), the average yield of winter barley is 4.0 mt per ha (+39% YoY) and 3.9 mt per ha for spring barley (+ 68% YoY).

On August 21, 222.6 thsd mt of crude oil were sold at Resources Auction 120, which took place on the floor of the Ukrainian Interbank Currency Exchange. According to official UICE information, the average price of oil was UAH 3,878 per mt, or USD 95.8 per bbl (excluding VAT, at USD/UAH 4.6005).

The Metinvest Group got approval at a public hearing of its plan to construct a coal transloading terminal in Sevastopol. The Group’s stevedore company, Avlita, plans to invest USD 170 mln (including USD 30 mln allocated for ecology-related items) into construction of the transloading terminal.

Wholesale electricity price for September 2008, set by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), increased 4% compared to August, reaching USD 76.2 per MWh. Thus a YtD tariff increase for January-September 2008 has reached 35.7% in local currency (UAH).

According to the official web site of the State Enterprise National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom, it and the concern Alstom discussed the possibility of modernizing the rotors and condensers for the turbines of Ukrainian NPPs.

As reported by the press service of Sumy Frunze Machine Building [SMASH UZ, N/R] on Thursday, August 21, the company will deliver exhaust-heat boilers and steam condensers to Alchevsk ISW [ALMK UZ, BUY]. The value of the contract is USD 12.2 mln.