Fuel, energy, tobacco trade: which companies have become leaders in Ukrainian wholesale during the big war?

The companies that made it to the top 10 of the Wholesale Trade Index include LLC “OKKO-HOLDING”, “WOG RETAIL” LLC, WEST PETROL MARKET LLC (fuel), and DTEK TRADING LLC, which deals with trading energy products. The list also includes businesses that sell tobacco (LLC “TEDIS UKRAINE” and “PHILIP MORRIS SALES AND DISTRIBUTION” LLC). Only two companies on the list sell products: PRJSC “MHP” (meat) and KERNEL TRADE (grain). The Index also includes the pharmaceutical company JV “OPTIMA-PHARM,LTD” and METINVEST-SMC. Together, these businesses earned 458.95 billion hryvnias last year.

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For the second year in a row, the unchanged leader in wholesale trade is Kernel Trade, which is part of the Kernel group owned by Andriy Verevsky. In 2022, the company’s income was 67.92 billion hryvnias—21% less compared to 2021 (85.79 billion hryvnias).

With an income of 67.29 billion hryvnias, “OKKO-HOLDING” (owned by Vitaliy Antonov, Universal Investment Group — UIG) moved up to the second position in the ranking. The company’s earnings increased 1.6 times in 2022 compared to the previous year.

The third position is held by the tobacco company LLC “TEDIS UKRAINE” owned by Boris Kaufman. Last year, the company increased its income by 7% and earned 64.95 billion hryvnias. It’s worth noting that at the same time, the income of another company in the Index, specializing in wholesale tobacco trade — “PHILIP MORRIS SALES AND DISTRIBUTION” LLC (the Ukrainian branch of the international tobacco manufacturer) — decreased by 15% in 2022.

The fourth position in the Index is held by the company PRJSC “MHP” owned by Yuriy Kosyuk. This company specializes in wholesale trade of meat and meat products. Its income in 2022 amounted to 46.73 billion hryvnias and remained almost unchanged compared to 2021 (46 billion hryvnias).

In the fifth position on the list is the company “OPTIMA-PHARM,LTD” owned by Andriy Hubsky. In 2022, the company’s revenues decreased by 4% to 44.34 billion hryvnias.

The company DTEK TRADING LLC, owned by Rinat Akhmetov, experienced the largest income growth, increasing by 1.8 times in a year. The income of this company, amounting to 36.68 billion hryvnias, allowed it to climb from the 18th place in the 2021 ranking to the 7th place in the 2022 ranking.

On the other hand, in another company from Akhmetov’s top 10 — Metinvest-SMC, revenues decreased by 42% (2021 — 51.39 billion hryvnias, 2022 — 29.86 billion hryvnias).

Who had to leave the top 10 list of Ukrainian wholesalers because of the full-scale war?

It’s important to mention that the top 10 Ukrainian wholesalers saw significant changes compared to 2021. Last year, two companies specializing in trading energy products left the list. One of them is LLC UNITED ENERGY, associated with Kolomoisky, which was the second-highest earner in the country before the full-scale war. In 2022, LLC UNITED ENERGY earned 3.6 times less than in 2021 (17.24 billion UAH) and dropped 19 positions in the ranking.

Also, LLC HIM-TRADE (Dmytro Firtash) didn’t make it to the top. The company, reducing its income by 1.4 times, dropped to the 12th position in the ranking.

Additionally, two businesses specializing in wholesale grain trading left the top ten: Nibulon (Andriy Vadatursky). The company’s revenues last year decreased by 2.7 times compared to 2021, and a significant portion of its facilities and equipment is still in occupation.

LLC ADM UKRAINE (a subsidiary of the international agro-industrial corporation Archer Daniels Midland Company) also dropped out of the top ten; their income decreased by 1.5 times compared to 2021.

It’s worth noting that the total income of the top 10 wholesale trade companies decreased by 10% in 2022 compared to the top 10 in 2021.

Opendatabot Index is an analytical tool for assessing the real state and geography of Ukrainian business. It relies on data from state registers, Opendatabot registers, financial reports of companies, information about connections with the Russian Federation, sanction lists, and other analytical tools of Opendatabot.