What do the David Leventis companies lose from the war in Ukraine?

Of George Lampiris

Significant are the effects of the current war in Ukraine on two of the companies in which the David and Leventis business families are involved and active in Russia and Ukraine.

The reason for this is the company for the production and distribution of commercial refrigerators, Frigoglass, which has a factory in Russia, and Coca-Cola HBC, which is the second largest bottler of Coca-Cola in the world with a presence in 29 countries, with production facilities. in Russia, where it maintains ten factories, but also in Ukraine, where it recently stopped production.

Both listed companies, Frigoglass on the Athens Stock Exchange and Coca-Cola HBC, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Athens Stock Exchange, are currently faced with new data that are created and directly related to the development of their business activities. in Russia and Ukraine.

Russia is the only power supply in Europe after the fire in Romania

It is noteworthy that for Frigoglass, based on the relevant information provided to the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, the markets of Russia and Ukraine reflect 14.5% and 2.4% of the group’s sales.

In fact, the Frigoglass subsidiary in Russia maintains a strong export displacement to other countries but also to the group’s subsidiaries, as it is the main production unit of the company in Europe, after the fire that hit in 2021, its second factory based in Romania. .

In fact, the subsidiary in Russia constitutes 20% of the group’s assets for 2021. In addition, Frigoglass supplies raw materials from Russia, which are utilized by its subsidiary in that country and constitute 23% of the commercial refrigeration industry based on data. of the company for 2021. Note that among its key customers are both Coca-Cola and Heineken.

The shutdown of the plant in Ukraine and the “dip” of the stock

As for Coca-Cola HBC, it recently decided to close its plant in Ukraine and asked the staff to stay at home, following the rapid developments and the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory.

At the same time, its share in the Greek Stock Exchange is in free fall given the uncertainty coming from the Russian-Ukrainian front and the group’s activity in the region, recording a steady decline in recent days, against the positive economic results announced by the group for 2021.

Coca-Cola HBC’s share on the Athens Stock Exchange is currently at its lowest level since November 2020 with its share falling by 6.22% on Monday and falling further by 6.04% on Tuesday. The picture is similar for the share of the company on the London Stock Exchange, where on Tuesday it fell by 6.91%.

Characteristic was the position of the CEO of the company, Zoran Bogdanovic, in the recent briefing of the analysts on the results of 2021, who characteristically stated that the company has already prepared alternative scenarios to deal with unforeseen situations, including that of alternative procurement. products from Africa and Asia.

In particular, Coca-Cola HBC has been operating productively in Kyiv for more than 20 years and currently contributes 0.27% of Ukraine’s GDP.

In this country are produced products such as soft drinks, juices, bottled water, packaged tea, which are packed in aluminum cans, in cardboard packaging type Tetrapack and in glass bottles.

At the same time, Coca-Cola HBC maintains trade relations with 1,400 local partners and suppliers on Ukrainian soil, from which it derives – among other things – raw materials such as sugar.