Serbia’s EPS posts record EUR 1 billion profit for 2023

State-owned energy company Elektroprivreda Srbije reported a profit of RSD 114 billion (EUR 972.5 million) for 2023. In comparison, the utility suffered a loss of RSD 73.7 billion (EUR 629 million) in the previous year.

According to a report on the implementation of the consolidated three-year business plan for 2023, adopted by the shareholders’ assembly of Serbian joint stock company Elektroprivreda Srbije, the 2023 profit amounted to RSD 114 billion, the Ministry of Mining and Energy said.

Of note, EPS has been struggling to recover since December 2021, when its largest coal-fired thermal power plants suffered a massive breakdown combined with coal production outages. In March 2022 Miroslav Tomašević replaced Milorad Grčić as acting director. Grčić resigned two months earlier.

In early 2023, EPS results started recuperating, but the new supervisory board still replaced Tomašević and picked Dušan Živković as acting director.

Đedović Handanović: The changes in the company started from the top, but they must also be implemented all the way to the lowest level

Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović, the sole shareholder assembly member, said that the 2023 financial result of EPS was truly historic, and that the almost EUR 1 billion in profit is unprecedented.

It is necessary to continue improving management, implement deep changes in every segment of operation, improve coal production, intensify the stripping of the overburden, and accelerate investments in generation capacities, she underscored.

At the assembly, attended by members of the supervisory and executive boards, Đedović Handanović pointed to last year’s stabilization of finances and electricity production as well as a significant amount of coal at stockpiles and water in hydropower plant reservoirs.

The government will continue to insist on implementing the transformation plan and accelerating work on new coal mines

Changes started at the top, but the company’s transformation into a profitable energy giant envisages changes to be implemented down to the lowest level, she said.

According to the minister, the transformation plan, a tool for operational and financial efficiency, is still under preparation.

The state, as the owner, will continue to insist on implementing the transformation plan, accelerating work on new coal mines, increasing coal production and conducting investments much more efficiently as they bear the highest importance for the company, Đedović Handanović stressed.