Ukrainian stocks listed on the PFTS Exchange finished lower last week, although the losses were generally less than those seen on the main global exchanges amid the COVID-19 panic, as most local stocks have already been trading at distressed levels.
Electricity generator CentrEnergo (CEEN) was hardest-hit, slumping 11% to UAH 7.50, and DonbasEnergo (DOEN) also dropped by 10% to UAH 24.00 per share. Plummeting global oil prices continued to hurt UkrNafta (UNAF), which lost 6.5% to close at UAH 130. Raiffaisen Bank Aval (BAVL) which had been in a low-volatility mode for the last three months, tumbled 11% to 33.00 kopecks as the bank could postpone an expected dividend distribution.
Machinery blue-chip TurboAtom (TATM) declined by 2.8% to UAH 10.30. The company reported that its net profit dropped by 2.4x YoY to UAH 314mn (0.74 kopecks per share) in full-year 2019. In 4Q19 alone, TurboAtom had a net loss of UAH 63mn. The company is scheduled to hold a shareholders meeting on Apr 23, where an FY19 dividend should be announced. We expect TurboAtom to adopt a 50% payout from last year’s profit, implying a DPS of UAH 0.37 per share.
London-listed Ferrexpo (FXPO) gained 15% to GBp 127 despite the rout on the FTSE, after the company posted a solid net profit of USD 403mn for full-year 2019. On the downside, poultry giant MHP (MHPC) fell another 5.0% to USD 5.70 amid concerns regarding the company’s quite high debt burden.
In Warsaw trading, Kernel (KER) shed 3.9% to PLN 34.20 while both Astarta (AST) and Agroton (AGT) started to recover after sharp drops over the preceding week. Astarta edged up by 2.4% to PLN 10.60 and Agroton rebounded by 8.0% to PLN 2.70 per share.
The hryvnia was under heavy attack last week from speculators as the US dollar demonstrated broad gains against world currencies amid the turmoil on financial markets. The domestic currency briefly fell below the UAH/USD 29 level at midweek before massive interventions from the National Bank provided cover; the NBU acknowledged that its reserves have declined from USD 26.6bn at the beginning of March down to around USD 24bn as of Friday (Mar 20). The hryvnia ended the week 3.8% lower at 27.50 UAH/USD, a level last seen at the beginning of 2019.
STOCKS IN THE NEWS
-Ferrexpo’s Full-Year Profit Jumps 20% to USD 403mn for 2019
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