OREANDA-NEWS. Kernel Holding S.A. is pleased to publish the Operations Update for three months ended 31 March 2016.

Key highlights:

 Grain sales reached a record 1,414,879 tons in Q3 FY2016, an increase of 6% compared to a year ago, as capacity improvements at our grain transshipment facility in Ukraine increased our grain export speed while both our own and third-party farming sales accelerated following the reinstatement of VAT refunds on grain exports since 1 January 2016.
 Export terminals utilization was up 20% y-o-y to 1,471,521 tons in Q3 FY2016 as a result of a debottlenecking project completed at our Ukrainian grain transshipment facility that reached a historical high monthly utilization of 435,000 tons in March 2016.
 Sunflower oil sales in bulk were up 28% y-o-y to a notable 319,940 tons in Q3 FY2016, with the growth driven by strong production in the preceding quarter. Oilseed crush was unchanged y-o-y in Q3 FY2016.
 Bottled oil sales increased 20% y-o-y to 28.6 million liters in Q3 FY2016 as the roll-out of export sales to new markets compensated for sluggish domestic demand.

Other highlights:

 Starting 1 January 2016, VAT refunds on grain exports were reinstated in Ukraine, a change that is beneficial for the company’s farming and grain segments.
 On 25 February 2016, Kernel entered into binding documentation to acquire the assets, through an assignment agreement with a Ukrainian bank, of an oilseed crushing plant for USD 95.8 million, payable in arrears over five years. Commissioned in 2012, the world-class multi-seed facility has an installed crushing capacity of 560,000 tons of sunflower seed per year. The production plant, where Kernel currently operates through a tolling agreement, is located in Kirovohrad region of Ukraine and fits well into Kernel’s existing origination and marketing platform.
 On 15 April 2016, Kernel reported it had divested two small oilseed crushing plants located in southern Russia for RUB 800 million paid in cash by the buyer. The plants have a total crushing capacity of 200,000 tons of sunflower seed per year.

The condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended 31 March 2016 will be published before market opening on 30 May 2016.