Daily monitor

The Svarog Asset Management company, which owns 14.94% of shares in the Kharkiv-based OJSC Turboatom [TATM UZ, HOLD] – the largest turbine manufacturer in Ukraine – is challenging the legitimacy of decisions adopted at the recent shareholders meeting on April 13, including the decision to pay out UAH 50.884 mln in dividends on the company’s 2008 profits.

Ukraine’s National Energy Regulatory Commission (NERC) has introduced a 3.1X increase in power tariffs for residential users that consume over 0.6 MWh power per month, from the current UAH 244 per MWh to UAH 755 per MWh.

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers has established a cap on trade markups, setting the maximum that may be charged on wholesale prices at 12% and 25% of retail prices for both medicine and other medical goods.

Raiffeisen Bank Aval [BAVL UZ, U/R] announced that it has repaid the final USD 100 mln tranche of an overall USD 500 mln syndicated loan, which was attracted in April 2007 for a period of two years at LIBOR +1.2%.

In Ukraine, official statistics reported a YoY decrease in consumer spending and industrial production volumes in January-March 2009. Retail trade lost 11.5% YoY in 3M09 and totalled UAH 96 bln.

In March 2009, cement production in Ukraine decreased 54.6% in comparison to production levels reported in March 2008. Last month’s output equaled 620,000 metric tons. In the same period, slate production in Ukraine dropped by 56.4% to 26 mln tiles.

The EGM of Ukrnafta [UNAF UZ, U/R], which was scheduled for today, did not take place because of the absence of the shareholders’ registry.

MHP [MHPC LI, spec. BUY], a vertically integrated holding that is comprised of 20 enterprises focusing on the poultry business and grain cultivation, has released its preliminary financial results for the 2008 financial year.

On April 13, Nikopol Ferroalloys [NFER UZ, SELL] released its 2008 annual report.

The Ukrainian Government suggested that the NERC increase power tariffs by 3.5 times for residential users that consume over 0.6 MWh of power per month, up from the current UAH 244 per MWh to UAH 823 per MWh.