In mid December Ukrainian Mining And Metallurgical Company, one of the largest metal traders in Ukraine, dismissed Mladen Peikovich from the office of the CEO and appointed Valentin Sobchuk for a year instead.
Previously Sobchuk headed the company IT-department, and was the director of Zahidstal.
Experts believe this has been a loss for the company. For the past 10 years UGMK has always occupied the 2nd position among Ukrainian metal traders (after Metinvest-SMC), controlling over 20% of the market. The company offered to the market the metal supermarket, and now has more than 30 of such stores.
But now the company looses its positions. And the reason is not just the metal price decrease. Experts say, Peikovich isn’t initiative and powerful enough to be a CEO in such times. In 2011-2012 under his guidance the company increased annual sales to almost 500 thousand tons (by 10% in 2010, by 22% in 2011, and by 43% in 2012), but then turned to decrease.
In 2014 the company received 52.1 million UAH of net profit as opposed to 28.3 million UAH of net losses in 2013. But that was due to the Hryvna devaluation, and not sales successes.
And under Peikovich UGMK suffered considerable market losses. On the shrinking trade market the new CEO will have to strengthen client-drawing techniques and look for new ones. The company might even close some of its sites in the regions.
Yet despite all this UGMK will still remain a major player on the metal market of Ukraine. (Ukrainian metal)
