Miner Ferrexpo seeks at least $100 million to avoid insolvency as Ukraine war hits operations (updated)

Ferrexpo

22/04/2026 08:03

Adds shares in paragraph 2, details and background throughout

April 22 (Reuters) - Iron ore pellet producer Ferrexpo FXPO.L said on Wednesday it was pursuing a potential equity raise of at least $100 million to stave off insolvency, warning it had only enough accessible cash to survive until about August-end without new funding.

Shares in the London-listed firm fell 5.5% to 40.8 pence in early trade.

The Ukraine-focused miner said its net accessible cash had declined to about $20 million, as of April 17, down from $101 million at 2024-end, hammered by the Ukraine war-led disruption to its operations.

Without the fundraise, "it is highly likely that the company would have no option but to file for insolvency in the relevant jurisdictions and shareholders may lose all or a substantial portion of their investment," the company said in a statement.

Ferrexpo said it also expected its shares to be suspended from listing and trading from May if the fundraise was not launched and completed by April 30, as it would be unable to publish its already delayed 2025 annual report on a going concern basis.

The suspension of value-added tax refunds, combined with attacks on Ukraine's energy grid, has severely strained the company's finances.

Ferrexpo is currently operating just one of its four pellet lines, at roughly a quarter of pre-war capacity, and first-quarter production fell 72% year-on-year.

The group's main mine, Ferrexpo Poltava Mining, has been involved in bankruptcy proceedings since February after a Ukrainian court accepted a 4.73 billion hryvnias ($107.87 million) claim relating to contested surety agreements with a bank previously owned by founder and Ukrainian billionaire Kostiantyn Zhevago.

($1 = 43.8504 hryvnias)

 (Reporting by DhanushVignesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

 ((DhanushVignesh.Babu@thomsonreuters.com))