Shares in MHP raised above 40% their recovery in the last two months after the Ukrainian sunflowers-to-sausages group revealed that its grain growing operations had escaped drought damage, with yields running ahead of last year's.

The group, which farms over all its 280,000-hectare landbank, said that it had "successfully finished" its harvest of early crops, with yields of wheat, at 5.4 tonnes per hectare, and rapeseed, at 3.4 tonnes per hectare, coming in at nearly twice the Ukraine average.

Last year, MHP achieved a wheat yield of 5.1 tonnes per hectare, and rapeseed yield of 2.8 tonnes per hectare

"Despite concerns over weather conditions, and significantly lower results across all early crops –wheat, barley, rapeseed – in Ukraine, our yields of early crops are good," the group said, crediting its achievement, to "operational efficiency and employment of best practice".

Corn prospects

And MHP held out hope for its later-harvested crops too, such as corn, in which the group last year achieved a yield of 300 bushels per acre at one of its farms.

"Despite weather challenges during the second quarter of 2012, MHP expects to receive good yields across all crops."

The comment contrasts with waning hopes for Ukraine's overall grains harvest, for which UkrAgroConsult on Tuesday cut its forecast by 1.5m tonnes to 42.4m tonnes.

The influential analysis group estimated the corn harvest at 19m tonnes, well below initial official hopes of a 25m-tonne harvest.

Indeed, yields from the early corn harvest, at 2.78 tonnes per hectare, have come in well short of the 4.20m tonnes per hectare achieved at this point last year, on the way to record national production of 22.7m tonnes.

Earnings rise 

MHP's grain-growing operations raised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) by 9% to $42m in the April-to-June quarter, helped by a more-than-tripling in sales to $33m.

The group sold its wheat at an average of $184 per tonne, and its soybeans at $435 per tonne.

The core poultry division, for which much of the group's crops are destined, raised ebitda by 67% to $107m.

The performance was boosted by a 25% jump in chicken prices, in Ukraine hryvnia terms, while the price of sunflower oil, a major cost, fell 13% to $1,131 per tonne.

Group earnings rose 83% to $122m, on revenues up 27% at $357m.

Stock recovers 

MHP depositary receipts, a proxy for shares, ended up 5.6% at $14.25 in London, an 11-month closing high.

The receipts tumbled to $10.00 in early June.