Kernel gets USD 18 mln loan from ING Bank Ukraine

Kernel Trade, operator of sunflower oil producer Kernel Group (KER PW), is in line to receive a UAH 18 mln loan from ING Bank Ukraine, Interfax reported yesterday. The facility, a four-year instrument will be used to finance upgrading the company’s Poltava oil extraction plant’s capacity to 430 ths mt per year. ING also said it will provide Kernel with a second USD 45 mln loan to refinance other debt obligations; Kernel announced last Friday that an unnamed Ukrainian branch of a European bank would provide it with this loan. Andriy Gostik: We estimate that with the new loans, Kernel’s financial debt totals around USD 300 mln. The company’s financial debt/equity ratio is estimated to remain slightly below 1, and in our view, Kernel’s financial position remains quite healthy. The fact that the company is able to draw loans in the tight credit environment underscores its creditworthiness as perceived by banks.