Astarta signs EUR 37 mln loan agreement with EIB

Ukraine’s leading sugar producer and farmer Astarta
(AST PW) signed a EUR 37 mln loan agreement with the European Investment Bank
(EIB), according to the company’s Nov. 23 press release. The loan will finance
Astarta’s new storage infrastructure and its capacity extension for grain and
sugar, the release said. For the first time in Ukraine, the EIB will make
financing available with the InnovFin-EU Finance for Innovator instrument. No
other details of the deal have been disclosed. InnovFin aims to facilitate and
accelerate access to finance for innovative businesses and other innovative
entities in Europe, according to the EIB.

Alexander Paraschiy: With its EUR 136 mln total debt as of end-September (comparable to its
EUR 135 mln LTM EBITDA), Astarta is among the least leveraged companies in
Ukrainian equity universe. Therefore, it’s not surprising that European
financial institutions are ready to provide the company cheap financing. The
InnovFin loan is recognition of the innovative efforts of Astarta, which have
invested a lot in upgrading the efficiency of its sugar business and in green
energy projects. All in all, the news is neutral for Astarta’s fundamentals but
clearly good for its image. We remain bullish on Astarta stock.