KYIV, UKRAINE — Despite myriad headwinds, including the ongoing war with Russia, Nibulon, a leading grain exporter, managed to “maintain stability, continue its development, and keep investing in Ukraine without subsidies and grants” in 2024, said the company’s chief executive officer, Andriy Vadatursky.
Among the 20 largest companies in Ukraine, Nibulon was exporting nearly 4 million tonnes of grain per year prior to Russia’s invasion in February 2022. After seeing exports plummet in the early stages of the war, Nibulon’s shipments have rebounded.
In a message released on Dec. 5, marking the company’s 33rd anniversary, Vadatursky said Nibulon was ending 2024 with export volumes of 3.12 million tonnes, “remaining one of Ukraine’s leading grain exporters pivotal to the future of the agricultural sector.”
He added that “for the first time in many years, we achieved profitability, and this success has already been reflected in the income levels of our employees and landowners.”
The war with Russia, a stagnant economy, labor shortages, this year’s drought and falling global grain prices have conspired to hurt the company financially.
Despite $500 million in confirmed wartime losses, Vadatursky said the company has been able to fulfill its obligations. It restructured its loan agreements with Ukrainian banks and is in the final stages of signing agreements with international financial institutions. He said Nibulon also has secured new financing from the state-owned Oschadbank with a 15-year loan from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark.
“We are grateful to all our partners for believing in our team, our updated business model, and our transformation,” said Vadatursky, who became Nibulon’s CEO in the fall of 2022 after his father, Oleskiy Vadatursky, who founded the company in 1991, and mother were killed when a Russian missile struck their home in Mykolaiv, Ukraine.
Vadatursky said the company’s resilience is rooted in its ability to adapt quickly to change.
“Since the start of the war, Nibulon has been in survival mode,” he said. “We are talking about a choice between bankruptcy and changes. Two years ago, we chose changes, enabling us to save the company. This year, amidst ongoing transformation, our focus shifted to greater efficiency. Every division strives to rapidly become the best version of itself.”
He said the company is well positioned for the future thanks in part to the significant investments it has made. These investments included $22.5 million to build a new transshipment terminal on the Danube River that allowed the company to resume purchases and exports through Constanța, Romania, when Odesa’s ports were inactive, and to achieve record transshipment volumes of 250,000 tonnes of grain per month.
“This year, for the first time in its history, our Bessarabska branch sent a seagoing coaster to Turkey,” Vadatursky said. “Thus, we have recouped our investment in the new terminal. Since its inauguration, the branch has shipped over 3.8 million tonnes of grain and oilseeds.”
Significant changes also took place in Nibulon’s elevator division in 2024, as the reorganization and optimization of the management and technical maintenance of the network, which began in 2023, was completed. As part of the modernization, new facilities have been built at the Khmilnyk branch with an investment of $3.4 million, including the use of modern dryers. At AK Vradiivskyi Ltd., Nibulon invested $1.2 million in new technologies that optimize production processes. Kolosivskyi Elevator Ltd., one of the oldest among Nibulon’s branches, has been revived through minor capital investment and improvements in overall administration.
Following the overhaul and large-scale renewal of the company’s truck fleet in 2024, Vadatursky said the logistics department will focus on new ways to achieve efficiency per every tonne and every kilometer.
“We also aim to establish a maintenance system for our vehicles and develop a model that will eventually allow us to offer these services to other organizations,” he said. “Additionally, we will continue to increase the share of cargo transported by our own fleet, ensuring cost reduction; we will expand our service geography along the Middle and Upper Danube.”
Vadatursky vowed to keep the company moving forward.
“Looking back, I can say that Nibulon has been meeting challenges with dignity,” he said. “I am proud of the team with whom we are facing all the challenges, as well as the 682 employees who are defending us in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Without a doubt, we are making history. Whatever the future holds, giving up is not an option. The only way is to struggle, to conquer both ourselves and global markets for the sake of our children.”
