Serbian oil company NIS is majority owned by Russian GazpromNeft which holds 56.15 % stake, 29.87 % is held by the Serbian state and the rest is owned by employees, Serbian citizens and other minority shareholders. The company distributed dividends for 2018 in the amount of 0.22 euros/share. At the general meeting held on 30 June, NIS shareholders approved the proposal of the Board of Directors to distribute a total of 37.4 million euros of last year’s profit (25 %) as dividends. Therefore, gross dividend will amount to 0.22 euros/share, which is slightly lower compared to a dividend paid last year – 0.34 euros/share. This is the eight consecutive year in which NIS pays out 25 % of its profit to its shareholders. NIS Group’s net profit in 2019 amounted to 140.8 million euros (33.5 % lower compared to 2018), while EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) amounted to 377 million euros (17 % lower compared to 2018).
In the period January-September of the current year, oil and gas industry was affected by adverse global trends, reduced demand for petroleum products, before all, due to the COVID-19 pandemics, as well as to sharp decline in oil prices. In the third quarter, NIS’ EBITDA indicator amounts to 68 million euros, while the same indicator for 9 months of 2020, amounts to the total of 88.5 million euros. NIS also preserved its positive cash flow, which was, in the period January-September 167 million euros. Net profit realized in the third quarter was 16.2 million euros, but unfavorable macroeconomic situation in the first half of the year influenced the NIS Group to record the loss of 70.6 million euros in first nine months of the current year.
