Ukraine's MHP cuts back on investment plans

KIEV, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Mironovskiy Hleboproduct (MHP) (MHPCq.L), a Ukrainian agrarian company listed on London's AIM market, said on Thursday it would "curtail" its investment projects due to the credit crunch, but has seen no fall in its orders.

The company was valued at $1.7 billion when it raised $323 million by listing in London. It spent that cash on expanding its grains and poultry business and had planned to spend a further $1.5 billion on new factories, farms and silos in central Ukraine. "We will certainly curtail our programme of capital investment, because we understand that that we cannot count on long-term financing in the coming year," MHP director, Viktoria Kapelyushna said at a conference organised by Fitch.

"We have short-term credit which will mature in the next 12 months. We do not know what will happen in a year, so for that reason we will put away money to pay off those loans."

As a result, the company was unable to say when the $1.5 billion investment programme would start, Kapelyushna said.

However, she expected no slowdown in demand for MHP's products, which include Angus beef and over 30 types of potatoes, although poultry is the company's main business.

The company more that doubled its profits in the first half of this year to $160 million from $63 million a year ago, on revenues of $382 million, from $167 million. (Reporting by Yuri Kulikov; writing by Sabina Zawadzki; editing by Simon Jessop)