A/S Trigon Agri: 2008 Ukrainian Harvesting Results Ahead of Expectations
A/S Trigon Agri harvesting in Ukraine and in Russia has started with results,
which are better than expected by the management. Overall the fields are in good
condition and in the Ukrainian production clusters in the Eastern Ukraine none
of the fields have been affected by the flooding that hit the Western Ukraine
during recent days. In the Harkov cluster in Ukraine, where the company is
operating for the second year and where all fields were prepared and seeded by
Trigon Agri itself, the productivity results are expected to come in better than
targeted for a typical second year of operations. In the other three clusters
the company took land under control over winter and spring 2007/2008 and thereby
the overwhelming majority of the required field preparation and seeding in these
clusters was carried out by former land operators. Nevertheless, the expected
results in these clusters look better than expected by the management but given
that Trigon Agri could not control the quality of field-works of former owners,
the results, as announced previously, will stay lower than what could have been
achieved had Trigon Agri carried out all the field-works and seeding itself.
For reference, the three-year ramp-up targets of Trigon Agri are given in the
tables below:
Ukraine Russia
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Wheat 4.00 5.50 7.00 3.60 4.95 6.30
Barley 3.60 4.50 4.70 3.24 4.05 4.23
Sunflower 2.00 2.50 3.00 1.80 2.25 2.70
Corn 5.00 6.50 8.00 4.50 5.85 7.20
Please note that each of the years denotes a full operating year where Trigon
Agri is able to carry out all fieldworks on the land by itself and assumes
normal whether conditions.
In terms of the harvesting results to date, the average winter wheat yield in
the Harkov cluster, where the company is operating for the second full year,
stood at 5.84 tonnes per hectare on the first 4,126 hectares harvested against
the second-year production target of 5.5 tonnes per hectare (and against the
expected Ukrainian average of 2.95 tonnes per hectare for 2008, source: APK
Inform). This exceptional result shows the improvement in productivity which has
been achieved through proper management of land taken under control by the
group. The harvest is still ongoing for the remaining 3,903 hectares of winter
wheat and will continue for the remaining 14,729 hectares of other crops.
The average winter wheat productivity on harvested fields in the Kirovograd
cluster stood at 3.52 tonnes per hectare and barley productivity at 3.79 tonnes
per hectare. Trigon Agri is operating in the Kirovograd cluster for the first
year and the vast majority of the fields harvested in the cluster were prepared
and seeded by the former owners, which implied lower yields compared to yields
which could have been achieved had the fields been prepared and seeded by Trigon
Agri itself. The harvest has been completed in the Kirovograd cluster for a
total of 4,630 hectares of wheat and 1,699 hectares of barley and will continue
for the remaining 6,241 hectares of other crops.
Trigon Agri has also recently started its harvest campaign in Russia where a
total of more than 30,000 hectares will be harvested. The total harvested area
is expected to exceed 65,000 hectares for the group in the Black Earth regions
of Ukraine and Russia as announced previously.
For further information please contact:
Mr. Ülo Adamson, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trigon Agri A/S
Tel: +372 66 79 200
E-mail: mail@trigonagri.com
The Company's Certified Advisor is SEB Enskilda.
About Trigon Agri A/S
Trigon Agri A/S is an integrated leading cereal and dairy commodities company
with operations in Ukraine, Russia and Estonia. Trigon Agri A/S shares are
traded at the First North stock exchange in Stockholm, an alternative market
place of the OMX Nordic Exchange. Trigon Agri A/S is managed under an advisory
agreement by AS Trigon Capital, a leading Central and Eastern European
investment and corporate advisory firm with more than USD 1 billion of
discretionary assets under management.
