February 14, 2014
AvangardCo announces 18% on-year rise in total poultry flock
AvangardCo Investments Public Limited announces its full year trading update for the period ended December 31, 2013 with total poultry flock up by 18% on-year to 32.5 million heads versus 2012's 27.5 million heads.
Meanwhile, the population of laying hens increased by 18% on-year to 27.0 million heads compared to the previous year's 22.8 million heads.
In 2013, the increase in poultry flock followed the launch of new capacities and the placement of poultry flock at poultry complexes "Avis" and "Chornobaivske". The growth rate of the poultry flock was in line with the operational plans of AvangardCo, the largest producer of shell eggs and egg products in Ukraine and number one producer in Eurasia. At year-end 2013, 38% of the total poultry flock and 34% of the total population of laying hens were housed in new poultry complexes "Avis" and "Chornobaivske".
Last year, the production volume of shell eggs increased by 12% on-year to 7,019 million units (2012: 6,287 million units) due to the increase in the population of laying hens.
Sales to external customers decreased by 2% on-year to 5,093 million units in 2013 versus 2012's 5,223 million units. The decrease in sales to third parties was due to the increase in intergroup sales of shell eggs for further processing into dry egg products and was in line with the Company's strategy. In 2013, the share of shell egg sales through modern retail chains (supermarkets) was 33% of total sales to third parties (2012: 35%).
As at year end 2013, the company sells its products to the majority of national and regional retailers across Ukraine. The company's products are also widely sold through traditional retail outlets.
During 2013, the Company increased the sales of packaged eggs under the umbrella brand "Kvochk a" to 42.9 million units (2012: 36.2 million units) due to the greater presence of branded products in retail chains and traditional retail outlets in Ukraine, as well as a growing recognition of TM "Kvochka" among Ukrainian customers.
In the previous year, exports of shell eggs decreased by 3% on-year to 499 million units (2012: 516 million units) in line with the company's strategy to increase the volumes of shell eggs used for further processing into dry egg products. The main shell eggs export markets were the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, Central and West Africa, the CIS countries. The company is one of the main exporters of shell eggs to these regions.
In 2013, the average selling price of shell eggs decreased by 1% on-year to UAH0.69 (US$0.08) per unit, excluding VAT. Also in the same year, the volume of processed shell eggs increased by 73% on-year to 1,864 million eggs (2012: 1,078 million eggs) due to the increased processing capacities at "Imperovo Foods" processing plant.
The company continued to develop exports of shell eggs and dry egg products in 2013 which amounted to 1.9 billion eggs in egg equivalent (2012: 1.1 billion eggs in egg equivalent), or around 30% of the company's total sales. During the year the company exported its dry egg products to the markets of the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
In 2013, average sales price for dry egg products decreased by 6% on-year to US$7.64 per kg (2012: US$8.11 per kg) due to a significant increase in export sales volumes to new and existing customers.
By the end of 2013 the company, according to its stated plans, has completed in full the construction of two poultry complexes for egg production "Avis" and "Chornobaivske" in Khmelnytsky and Kherson regions. At the moment, the commissioning works are taking place at both complexes ahead of the launch. The company has finished the first stage of capacity expansion at its egg processing plant "Imperovo Foods" increasing the processing capacity from three million to six million eggs per day. The implementation of the second stage of capacity expansion to increase the processing capacity up to 10 million eggs per day is underway.
