MHP is looking for bondholder approval to defer passion bills and keep away from a declare on property as Ukraine’s main poultry processor grapples with disruption from the continuing struggle.
The London-listed trade, which has controlled to care for a component of provide in Ukraine in spite of harm to one in every of its warehouses from shelling, stated it ignored an passion cost on its 2029 bonds because of be paid on 19 March and could also be in the hunt for concessions for its 2024 and 2026 notes.
Whilst MHP is successfully already in default, the corporate has asked a 270-day extension for the March cost on its 2029 securities to keep away from a so-called tournament of default, wherein lenders may call for the entire go back in their capital or snatch property pledged as safety for the bonds. That eventuality would materialise after a 30-day grace length from the scheduled cost date.
In a stock-exchange submitting lately (21 March), MHP additionally famous it’s “not going” so to pay passion on its 2026 and 2024 bonds due on 4 April and 10 Might, respectively, which might result in the similar set of instances.
MHP is accountable for about part of hen manufacturing in Ukraine and could also be a manufacturer of substances together with corn, sunflowers, wheat, rapeseed and soybeans performed within the Sumy, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Dnipropetrovsk areas.
In the past, the corporate introduced it will be not able to factor its annual effects scheduled for twenty-four March because of the disruption led to through Russia’s invasion, which has compelled the trade to halt exports amid logistical boundaries.
“The corporate has skilled a variety of vital disruptions and operational problems inside its trade, whilst endeavor in depth and steady humanitarian efforts,” MHP stated lately.
It added within the context of the concessions sought from bondholders: “The corporate is launching the consent solicitation with a view to lend a hand maintain its liquidity in an excessively turbulent and unsure surroundings, which is able to lend a hand it in making sure the continuity of its trade within the quick, medium and longer term.
“In gentle of the approaching sowing marketing campaign, the corporate should proceed its present working actions in order that it will probably be certain the manufacturing and provide of grains to Ukrainian shoppers and be in a position to start exporting once more when the chance arises.”
MHP added the proposals, which additionally follow to the 2026 and 2024 bonds, “will permit the corporate to concentrate on its operational goals and trade continuity on this distinctive and difficult surroundings”.
Final week, the corporate stated a hearth broke out on the rented poultry warehouse within the village of Kvitneve within the Kyiv area on 12 March, destroying US$8.5m of frozen hen merchandise. “It used to be the most important warehouse in Ukraine used for the garage of frozen merchandise and predominantly utilized by huge retail chains in Ukraine,” MHP added.
On the identical time, the gang stated about 8,500 heaps of poultry used to be in peril as a result of restricted get admission to to different warehouses in southern Ukraine and the Kyiv area because of broken roads and railways. It put the “possible” monetary affect at greater than $20m.
For the primary 9 months of 2021, MHP booked revenues of $1.65bn, a 16% building up from a 12 months previous. Export revenues stood at $843m, up 11%.
Working benefit greater than doubled to $416m, whilst internet benefit used to be $377m, in comparison to a internet lack of $109m within the corresponding length.