Ukraine MHP to pay bond coupons per schedule
The chicken, grains processor has a $500 million bond outstanding
15 July 2022
2 minute read
By: Ukrainian chicken and grains processor MHP will make all interest payments on its bonds going forward, reported Reuters, citing the firm's chairman John Rich on Thursday.
Bondholders granted the company a reprieve on interest payments that had been due from March to May 2022, kicking in just days after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.
"We believe we are in a relatively good position," Rich told Reuters in an interview.
"We will be paying our bond coupons as per normal as per schedule," he said, adding this would only change in case of unforeseen events such as an "enormous" increase in military activity in the western part of Ukraine.
MHP has a $500 million bond outstanding, with the next interest payment due in November. Maturing in May 2024, the bond is currently bid at 40 cents in the dollar, Refinitiv data shows.
Other two external bonds from MHP expire only in 2026 and 2029, Rich said, meaning there are no chunky debt redemptions in the near-term. But other Ukrainian companies could face tough decisions, while the government too has a $1 billion bond maturing in September, he noted.
"For the sovereign it is difficult, very difficult, and for other large agricultural companies where lands have been lost and that are in different parts of the industry there are very difficult decisions to be made," Rich added.
