OREANDA-NEWS. August 29, 2012. Strong performance in all business segments provided for growth of the consolidated revenues by 23% to EUR 143 million. Volumes of crop sales increased by 75%, sugar by 42% and milk by 33%. The breakdown of revenues reflects the intersegment synergy and well-balanced nature of the business: share of revenues from sugar sales constituted 52%, grains and oilseeds – 32%, cattle farming – 11%. High quality of produce and successful marketing policy provided for significant increase in exports, which was 31% in total revenues.

While focusing on operational efficiency, the management pays a lot of attention to development projects. As a part of the energy efficiency program, ASTARTA actively pursues construction of a biogas production facility at the Globyno sugar plant in Poltava region. Its goal is to replace up to 50% of natural gas used in beet processing with bio-energy derived from by-products of sugar production and thus secure substantial savings.

In June, ASTARTA initiated a soybean processing project as a part of its strategy of business diversification. The project involves construction of a soybean processing plant in Poltava region with annual crushing capacity of about 220 thousand tonnes to be operational by autumn 2013. The project is aimed to extend the value chain, increase revenues, strengthen business diversification and mitigate the currency risks. Additional advantage would be its synergy with agricultural and cattle farming business segments.

Infrastructure and storage capacity development is another important component of our strategy. In October, ASTARTA will begin operation of a 50-kiloton sugar silo storage in Poltava region, the first of its kind in Ukraine. This facility will allow diversification in sugar packaging and logistics, and secure substantial savings.

Comments of Viktor Ivanchyk, CEO:

“Results of the first half of 2012 confirm soundness of our long-term strategy with focus on increasing production efficiency, energy savings, and business diversification. Despite weak pricing in sugar segment, the Group increased revenues and EBITDA, as well as secured record high level of export sales. Now, we concentrate our efforts to make the current production season a success. Same time, we continue the strategic development of ASTARTA with support of reputable international banks”.