UMCC plans to draw about $70 mln from NEQSOL Holding over two years if regulatory environment improves
Operating and capital investment at United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC, UMCC Titanium) has exceeded UAH 2 billion since its privatization in October 2024, and a two-year investment plan agreed with the supervisory board envisages drawing about $70 million more from owner NEQSOL Holding B.V.
United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC) has planned to draw approximately $70 million over the next two years from its owner, NEQSOL Holding B.V., if the regulatory environment improves, according to company management. The two-year investment plan, agreed upon with the supervisory board, aims to help UMCC reach breakeven by 2028.
The implementation of this plan depends on decisions to lift export controls on rutile and zirconium concentrates, which currently account for about 50% of the company's gross value. NEQSOL Holding B.V. head of investor relations and UMCC's first deputy general director, Rishad Aliyev, stated that increased production since privatization and operational stabilization has allowed the company to exceed 84% of its 2025 output in the first half of 2026.
However, the company faces challenges, including export restrictions that have prevented it from selling its main products on external markets, resulting in a loss of about $35 million in foreign currency revenue. Lifting these restrictions would also benefit NEQSOL Holding's participation in an upcoming auction for the sale of the Demurinsky mining and processing plant.
UMCC also struggles with logistics difficulties in exporting products from its Vilnohirsk mining and metallurgical plant to the U.S., due to shelling and issues with the Odesa route. The company is considering alternative shipping routes by rail to Romania or Poland, which would double the cost of transportation and reduce its profit margins to zero.
Other factors impacting UMCC's operations include a shortage of workers, proximity to the front line, and high electricity costs. UMCC CEO Dimitri Kalandadze emphasized the need to stabilize production, carry out modernization, and focus on deeper processing to produce higher value-added products.
Written by urgent.news from Interfax-Ukraine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
