Despite our country suffering one of the most punishing recessions in Europe last year, one company is still growing high. Motor Sich, a Zaporizhiya-based manufacturer of engines for aeroplanes and helicopters, has net profits for 2009 of UAH 755m - a whopping 190 times higher than the last year.

This shaft of light in the gloom of the Ukrainian economy's is about 16% plunge previous year came in part because of the crisis. While the 47% drop in the value of the hryvnia left banks and importers in the doldrums, exporters were rubbing their hands. Motor Sich exported 82% of its products to Russia, Asia and the Middle East, where it obtains payment in rubles and dollars, while 65% of prices, such as raw materials and manpower, are in the national currency. "The further the hryvnia devalues, the greater the margins," says Ruslan Patlavskiy of Foyil Securities.

Not only did margins increase, but a slew of business from Russia, China, India and the Middle East boosted the order book. The government also helped to get domestic aircraft production rolling again by issuing government-backed bonds. Ukraine's parliament also pushed through a law - signed in February by the president - that exempts Motor Sich and other aviation producers from VAT on imports and land tax until 2016.