DTEK B.V. CEO Maksym Tymchenko said the group’s CAPEX stood at $550m last year and totaled $1.0bn since the start of the war, including EUR 130m invested in the oil and gas segment in 2023. Oil and gas CAPEX is expected to remain at this level in 2024. Tymchenko also said DTEK Oil & Gas (DOG) cut production in 2023 due to underinvestment in the previous year and difficulties financing CAPEX while significant gas volumes remained unsold. Tymchenko expressed hope that the government would review its ban on gas exports after the end of the heating season.

The local Consumer Confidence Index (CCI), a survey-based gauge calculated by the market research firm Info Sapiens, stood at 77 points on a 0-200 scale in December, down from its 2023 intra-year high of 92 in May and down from 84 in December 2022.

Fitch Ratings affirmed its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) on MHP at CC following the company’s completion of a second tender offer to repurchase its 2024 notes. The agency decided not to treat the buyback as a distressed exchange as investors’ participation in it was voluntary. Fitch concluded that MHP’s refinancing risk eased post-tender.

The Ministry of Finance placed UAH 2.1bn ($57m) of hryvnia-denominated bonds and $100m of USD debt at a primary auction yesterday.

NATO’s Support and Procurement Agency signed yesterday a EUR 1.1bn contract to produce 155 mm artillery shells, part of which would be supplied to Ukraine. The deal is expected to yield 220,000 artillery rounds.

WSE-listed Kernel Holding, Ukraine’s largest sunflower oil producer and grain exporter, published its 2Q24FY (October-December 2023) operating results, reporting vegetable oil sales of 388 kt (+5% q-o-q, +13% y-o-y). The volume of oilseeds crushed increased by 33% q‑o‑q to 811 kt (+24% y‑o‑y). Grain exports totaled 1.7 Mt over the period, up 8.4x q-o-q and 12% y-o-y thanks to resumed Black Sea shipments. Crop throughput at Kernel’s export terminals in the Odesa region port of Chornomorsk totaled 1.8 Mt, up 11.2x q-o-q and 5% y-o-y.

Metinvest, Italian Danieli Group and the Industry Ministry of Italy have signed a memorandum of understanding on relaunching the Piombino steel mill. The plant is expected to produce 3 Mt of hot-rolled coil, with CAPEX provisionally estimated at EUR 2bn.

Power market operator Guaranteed Buyer published data on its settlements with renewable power producers, reporting paying 99% of the total due in December and transferring additional amounts for September and October, increasing the settlement rates for these months to 71% (from 47% reported before) and 83% (from 67%) respectively.

Automotive cargo traffic via the Porubne and Diakove crossing points on the Ukrainian-Romanian border resumed on Jan. 20-21 after Romanian farmers and truckers blocked the two crossings on Jan. 13 and Jan. 18, respectively.

Russian forces are intensifying assaults in eastern regions but frontlines remain largely static

Ukraine has been reassured that US aid is on its way, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during his visit to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. “The US aid is not in question, the timeline is in question,” Kuleba said.

Romanian farmers and haulers on Jan. 18 partially blocked inbound and outbound automotive cargo traffic at Diakove, the second major crossing point on the Ukrainian-Romanian border, after partially obstructing truck movements via Porubne, the largest Ukrainian-Romanian crossing point, on Jan. 13. Protesters are reportedly allowing transit of military and humanitarian aid as well as perishable goods.

State rail monopoly Ukrainian Railways (RAILUA) reported 2023 freight transportation of 148.4 Mt (-1.5% y-o-y), implying a December volume of 13.7 Mt, off 3.2% m-o-m but up 35% y-o-y. Grain made up 21% of the total freight volume in 2023 (30.6 Mt, +5.9% y-o-y), followed by construction materials with 20% (29.6 Mt, +30% y-o-y) and iron ore (27.5 Mt, -13% y-o-y) and coal (26.2 Mt, -11% y-o-y), both with 18%.

DTEK Energy reported 2023 maintenance and development CAPEX spent on its power plants and coal mines at UAH 11bn ($300m), almost double y-o-y. In the power generation segment, the company repaired 24 power units and brought back on-stream two mothballed units with a combined capacity of 500 MW, spending UAH 4.4bn ($120m) or 40% of the full-year CAPEX. Investments in group coal mines totaled UAH 7bn ($191m; +84% y-o-y).

Ferrexpo announced an interim dividend payout of 3.3 US cents per share, to be distributed on Feb. 23, 2024, to shareholders on the register at the close of business on Jan. 26, 2023.

The Polish government has reached agreement with domestic haulers to suspend their blockade of three border crossing points with Ukraine until Mar. 1, while the government will work on the list of agreed conditions.