Ferrexpo’s London Listing Resumes as $100 Million Rescue Priced at Steep Discount

The suspension that has kept Ferrexpo’s shares off the London market since early May is finally lifting, with trading set to resume at 7:30 a.m. on Monday. The restart follows the miner’s publication of its 2025 annual report on Wednesday and comes just days before the newly issued shares from its $100 million capital raise are admitted to trading on September 22.

The fundraising, completed at 16.5 pence per share, carries a 42.3 percent discount to the 28.6 pence closing price recorded on April 30 — the last session before the shares were frozen. The placement involved 269,309,091 new ordinary shares through a private placement and a further 179,539,393 shares via subscription, together representing roughly 73.1 percent of the company’s previous share capital. That dilution helps explain the depth of the discount investors demanded.

Two Ukrainian businessmen with long-standing ties to the iron ore producer are shouldering the bulk of the raise. Andrij Verevskyi, the owner of agricultural group Kernel, is taking roughly half the emission — about $50 million — in exchange for 224.4 million new shares. Fevamotinico, the investment vehicle of Ferrexpo founder Kostyantyn Zhevago, is subscribing for another 40 percent of the volume. The shareholder meeting formally approving the capital increase is scheduled for September 21, with the new shares due to begin trading the following day.

A balance sheet under siege

The urgency behind the fundraising becomes clear in the full-year figures. Revenue fell 16 percent to $787 million, dragged down by weaker realised prices and a shift toward lower-grade iron ore concentrate. EBITDA more than halved to $28 million, while the company swung to a net loss of $223.9 million — a sharp deterioration from the $50 million loss recorded the prior year. A non-cash impairment charge of $154 million on operating assets accounted for much of the damage.

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Production tells a similarly stark story. Pellet output dropped 47 percent to 3.22 million tonnes, though total production across all products fell a comparatively milder 9 percent to 6.1 million tonnes. The operational disruptions stem from war-related damage and logistics bottlenecks that have periodically forced the company’s Ukrainian processing plants to stand idle, most recently following an incident in the Black Sea more than a month ago.

Cash reserves are thinning fast. The company held $58 million at year-end, down from $106 million at the start of the period, with the position exacerbated by Ukrainian authorities withholding value-added tax refunds. The tax administration has cited the personal sanctions imposed on Zhevago as grounds for the holdback, leaving Ferrexpo with a net VAT receivable in Ukraine exceeding $88 million as of June 30 — including $61 million withheld during the reporting period.

No guidance, mounting uncertainty

Management has declined to issue production or cost guidance for 2026, citing the impossibility of reliable forecasting amid the political and logistical volatility in Ukraine. That caution extends to the company’s relationship with the tax authorities, whose stance on VAT refunds remains a live issue for liquidity.

The annual report is expected to reach shareholders around September 10, accompanied by a circular convening an extraordinary general meeting. For existing investors, Monday’s reopening of the market offers the first real test of sentiment: how the market weighs the combination of severe dilution, persistent cash constraints and an operating environment that remains hostage to forces beyond the company’s control. The participation of Verevskyi and Fevamotinico suggests core shareholders at least see a path to restarting mining operations — even if the price of that conviction is a deeply discounted entry for those willing to back the recovery.