In 2019, Lemtrans continued to strengthen its positions in the key business areas.

By the results of 2019 work, the total railway transportation of Lemtrans made 52 million 479 thousand tons of different cargoes, which is 0.69 % higher than in 2018. Coal and iron ore raw materials made up the bulk of the cargo transported in 2019. The largest growth by the end of the year was in the transportation of coal. In particular, the volume of coal transportation made 23.44 MT, iron ore raw materials made 16.52 MT. By the end of 2018, the transportation of these types of cargo made 21.24 MT and 16.13 MT, respectively. Therewith, 2.2 % less ferrous metals, 26.4 % less coke and 29.06 % less flux were transported.

'In 2019, we transported more cargo than in 2018, primarily due to increasing our rail car fleet. The fundamental problems of the industry are yet to be solved. The cargo transportation issues are directly related to the lack of locomotives and the infrastructure maintenance personnel, and in general to a decrease in the turnover of wagons in Ukraine,' said Volodymyr Mezentsev, Lemtrans CEO. 'Like any other railway carriers in the country, Lemtrans cares of the development of infrastructure and high-speed operations and is keen to see private locomotives on the railways of Ukrzaliznytsia.'

INVESTMENT

The total capital investment amounted to more than UAH 1.25 billion in 2019. Compared with 2018, capital investments increased by more than 69 % — from UAH 665 million to UAH 1.25 billion.
The main focus of Lemtrans investments is still on expansion of the rolling stock fleet. In 2019, it was decided to purchase 1107 units. The Company also continued to implement its large-scale investment programme aimed at further improving efficiency and increasing the productivity of its car repair facilities.

PERFORMANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS
The Company has traditionally shown the positive dynamics of its car repair sector. Thus, the volume of scheduled types of freight cars repair at production sites amounted to 6,904 units over 12 months of 2019.

In 2019, the car repair facilities of the Company continued to operate at maximum load, which allowed to increase the volume of scheduled types of freight cars repair to 6,904 units, or by 3.5 %, compared to 2018.