Astarta reports EUR 219 mln in 2010 audited revenue, up from unaudited figures

Astarta (WSE: AST PW), a Ukrainian agricultural company with a land bank of 210 ths ha and focus on sugar production, reported its 2010 audited financials yesterday. Revenue grew by 71% y-o-y to EUR 219.3 mln, EBITDA surged 2x y-o-y to EUR 100.7 mln (a margin of 46% vs. 38% in 2009), and net income grew 2.7x y-o-y to EUR 80 mln (margin of 36% vs. 23% in 2009). The company also said it finished its sugar sowing campaign on 45 ths ha and expects to produce 350 ths mt of sugar this year, up 75% y-o-y. The company has been able to sell its sugar at USD 1,100 per mt with VAT in 1Q11 and expects average year prices in the USD 1,000–1,100 per mt with VAT range (up 10-20% from USD 920 in 2010). Yegor Samusenko: Notably, the audited figures came in above non-audited figures released in February, as the company adopted new treatment for VAT accounting according to the new tax code. Given that the new tax code allows the company to retain the difference between VAT on sold products and on costs, the company now treats VAT as revenue and cost respectively – this resulted in a EUR 15 mln increase in revenue (8%) and EUR 9 mln jump in EBITDA (9%). We are currently reviewing our recommendation for the stock.