Smart Maritime Group (SMG, Kherson), which combines Kherson and Nikolaev shipyards, modernized and repaired 78 vessels in 2017 against 46 ships repaired in 2016. Consolidated revenue of the Company's divisions from the sale of commodity products amounted to UAH 317 million at the end of the year, which is 19% less than in 2016. This decrease in revenue is due to an unstable economic situation and lack of demand for shipbuilding services both in the domestic and external markets.
The most complex, and at the same time the most successfully implemented contract last year was the project of a deep modernization of Donmaster Spirit dry cargo ship. As part of its modernization, specialists of Kherson shipyard increased the length of the ship to 119 meters. About 400 tonnes of high-strength shipbuilding steel were used to build a 23-meter insert. The upgrade made it possible to significantly improve the technical and economic parameters of the dry cargo ship. It became a 3-bilge vessel with a 14% increase in the deadweight – to 4,900 tonnes.
Along with this, SMG continued to develop its machine-building and metalworking business lines. Within the framework of a joint project with Metinvest, Kherson shipyard launched a sheet metal processing service.
In 2017, using its machine-building and metalworking capacities, SMG implemented contracts worth UAH 36 million, which is four times higher than in 2016. The key projects were the manufacture of metal structures for bridge construction in Zaporozhye and Odessa-Reni highway, manufacture of special equipment for companies of mining and steel-making industry, as well as metal processing service.
The shipyards started a program to modernize the production facilities for implementation of new contracts, which provided for an investment of more than UAH 30 million. In particular, the funds were directed to the construction of a new workshop for the manufacture of offshore metal structures, to upgrade of crane equipment, metal processing lines and to maintenance/repair of some sections of the metal processing chain – sheet levelling machine UBR-50 and GUTMANN cleaning and painting line.
Last year, SMG paid UAH 64.4 million of taxes and duties to the budgets of all levels, including UAH 24 million paid to local budgets. The average salary in the Company in December 2017 was UAH 8,692. The average wage of workers in the main professions (welders and assemblers) was UAH 11,121.
In 2018, SMG plans to increase its consolidated revenues to UAH 646.8 million in all business area, including through resumed fulfilment of shipbuilding contracts at the production facilities of the shipyards.
"Revival in the market of river transportations observed in Europe today and, accordingly, the establishing demand for shipbuilders' services inspire a restrained optimism in us. We hope to intensify our cooperation with our traditional European customer, who once left the market because of the continued military conflict. Today we have a number of agreements, which, we hope, will be implemented this year through specific shipbuilding contracts," commented the results of the year Vasiliy Fedin, General Director of Smart Maritime Group.
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Smart Maritime Group (SMG) is the largest shipbuilding holding company in Ukraine combining two shipyards: in Nikolaev and Kherson.
