For more than two years, Ukrainians, including 512 Astarta employees drafted into the Army, have been fighting for independence of their country at the cost of their lives and defending Europe from the worst aggression since the Second World War. At the same time, Astarta’s team, guided by its values, makes the maximum contribution to nearing Ukraine’s victory.
In 2023 the company strengthened its position in all key business segments. Total revenues increased by 21% y-o-y to EUR619m. Efficient logistics management allowed the company to exceed its pre-war export performance. By selling its products to 44 countries, by land and sea, Astarta’s exports of EUR325m contributed 53% of consolidated revenue in 2023.
Agricultural Production
Despite the extended harvesting campaign due to difficult weather conditions, Astarta’s farmers achieved record harvests benefiting from highest ever corn and sugar beet yields.
On back of bigger sales volumes, revenues increased by 33% y-o-y to EUR240m. Exports generated 78% of the segment revenues in 2023.
At the end of March 2024 Astarta launched its spring sowing campaign. The sowing of sugar beet has been completed, and corn, sunflower, soybeans and organic crops are underway.
Sugar Production
Adverse weather conditions also caused logistical difficulties in delivering raw materials to processing plants, which affected production processes. At the same time, in 2023 beet processing and sugar production hit the highest level over the past five years. The company increased production of white sugar by 34% y-o-y to 377kt. The volume of sugar beet processed grew by 37% y-o-y to 2.7mt in 2023.
The segment’s revenue increased by 28% to EUR199m, mainly on the back of 26% higher y-o-y sugar sales volumes. Exports of sugar and sugar-by products contributed 20% of the segment’s revenues in 2023 vs 14% during 2022.
Soybean Processing
During 2023 Astarta increased volumes of soybeans processed by 10% y-o-y to a record 232kt leading to soybean meal and oil output growth by 11% and 13% y-o-y correspondingly.
In 2023 36% y-o-y lower soybean oil prices were offset by a 27% increase in soybean meal sales volumes leading to EUR122m of revenues, flat y-o-y. Exports contributed 82% of these.
By increasing biogas production and switching from fossil fuels to biomass, in 2023 Astarta was able to replace 75% of natural gas consumption by biogas in soybean processing, compared to 50% in 2022.
Livestock Production
Due to effective livestock management, an increase in the cow headcount and in average daily milk yields, the company increased milk production by 12% y-o-y to 115kt in 2023.
Average annual herd totalled 26k heads (+10% y-o-y) across 33 dairy farms in the three regions of Ukraine. Sales volumes of raw milk increased by 13% y-o-y to 111kt in 2023. All milk is sold domestically.
Humanitarian Activities
To expand the scale of the humanitarian assistance, Astarta continued to develop the Common Help Ukraine project, which united different businesses, international organizations, local communities. Todate, the estimated financial value of the charitable contributions and humanitarian aid since the launch of the Project exceeded EUR30m.
Given the current and future challenges, including the need for communities to recover from the consequences of the war, the company focuses on developing and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the regions of its presence. Today, 431 entrepreneurs have received grants to build their businesses thanks to Astarta and its partners.
Viktor Ivanchyk, CEO and founder of Astarta:
“Our team believes in the Victory of Ukraine, so we will continue to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and contribute to strengthening the economic and humanitarian spheres. At the same time, we will strive for the company’s dynamic development, the technological efficiency and automation of processes, and strengthen energy independence. We will also invest in extending the value chain in Ukraine and expand our presence in foreign markets.”