International rating agency Fitch Ratings has withdrawn the long-term issuer default rating (IDR) of mining company Ferrexpo plc, which has its main assets in Ukraine, at 'CC' and its short-term IDR at 'C'.
"Fitch is withdrawing the ratings because Ferrexpo has decided to stop participating in the rating process," the agency said.
Fitch explained that it would no longer have sufficient information to maintain the ratings and therefore would no longer provide rating and analytical services to the mining company.
As reported, in August-September this year Ferrexpo raised approximately $100 million in capital through an additional share issue, with about $50 million provided by Kernel agricultural holding owner Andriy Verevsky and another approximately $40 million by Fevamotinico S.a.r.l., affiliated with Kostiantyn Zhevago, which is currently Ferrexpo's largest shareholder with a 49.27% stake.
The new shares account for approximately 73.1% of the company's shares outstanding before the capital raise. Following completion of the capital raise, the owner of Kernel is expected to hold 21.44% of the enlarged share capital.
Although the new shares were placed at a steep discount of 16 pence, Ferrexpo shares on the London Stock Exchange currently trade at 28.58 pence, corresponding to a market capitalization of GBP 304.7 million, or about $404.4 million. The new shares were admitted to trading on the exchange on September 22.
The board of directors believes the $100 million raised will be sufficient to meet the group's immediate and short-term operating needs, enabling it to operate at a reduced level over the next 18 months. The funds will be used primarily to restart temporarily suspended mining and processing operations in Ukraine, resume deferred spending across all operations, including repairs and maintenance, and maintain financial flexibility amid continued uncertainty over operations in Ukraine.
Before announcing the capital raise, Ferrexpo published its 2025 financial statements with a significant delay. According to the statements, the company's revenue fell 16% to $787 million, EBITDA fell 2.5-fold to $28 million, while its net loss increased almost 4.5-fold to $223.9 million.
Ferrexpo owns 100% of Yeryistivsky Mining and Processing Plant LLC, 99.9% of Bilanivsky Mining and Processing Plant LLC and 100% of Poltava Mining and Processing Plant PrJSC.
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) suspended trading in Ferrexpo shares in early May after the company was unable to publish its annual financial statements on time. Trading resumed on September 7.
