EPBiH not to pay dividends for 2017 as drought drives down profit

Shareholders of power utility Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH), majority owned by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), do not stand to get dividends for 2017, when the company saw its net profit plunge to BAM 620,282 (approximately EUR 317,000), from BAM 12.9 million (around EUR 6.6 million) a year earlier.

Under a decision to be on the agenda of EPBiH’s shareholder assembly on June 26, BAM 496,306 of the 2017 profit is to flow to retained earnings and BAM 124,076 to the reserve fund.

EPBiH’s net profit plummeted in 2017 as its overall electricity production undershot the planned level by 8.9%, to 7,009 GWh, with hydropower plants underperforming by 31.6% due to drought, and coal-fired power plants beating the plan by 4%, local media reported.

EPBiH said that the electricity market liberalization resulted in fierce competition for certain categories of consumers, adding that it managed not to lose a substantial market share, but that its revenues suffered due to lower prices it offered.

The power utility controlled by the Bosniak-Croat entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the top company by revenues in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2017, of BAM 1.115 billion (about EUR 570.8 million), according to reports.

Revision of 2018-2020 business plan

On June 26, EPBiH’s shareholder assembly is also to vote on a revised business plan for the 2018-2020 period, according to a filing to the Sarajevo Stock Exchange (SASE).

The original plan envisaged EUR 859 million in investments during the three-year period, including to build the Podveležje wind farm, small hydropower plants on the Neretvica river, and the Janjići and Una Kostela-Aneks hydropower plants.

EPBiH plans to put the EUR 83 million Podveležje wind farm into operation in the fourth quarter of 2019, Senad Salkić, executive director for capital investments at EPBiH, recently said, noting that the delivery and installation of wind turbines is in the final stage.

The 48 MW Podveležje, which would be the first wind farm in EPBiH’s system, is financed from the company’s own sources and German state development bank KfW’s lending and grant.