Serbia’s TSO EMS acquires 5% of shares of Montenegrin TSO CGES

Transmission system operator (TSO) Elektromreža Srbije today acquired 5% of the shares of Montenegrin TSO Crnogorski Elektroprenosni Sistem (CGES) for about EUR 7 million.

EMS now owns a total of 15% of the shares of the Montenegrin TSO. Five years ago it purchased 10% for EUR 13.8 million.

EMS bought the shares for EUR 0.95 apiece

The Serbian state-owned company bought the shares from small shareholders at the Montenegro Stock Exchange at an average price of around EUR 0.95 each, portal Vijesti reported.

According to the portal, the price is about 9% higher than in the previous transaction.

The majority owner of CGES is the Government of Montenegro, with 55% of shares, while Italian Terna holds 22%, and small shareholders control 8%.

CGES’s profit in the first nine months of 2020 was three times higher than in the same period of 2019

According to data from the latest financial report, for the period from January through September 2020, CGES’s profit was EUR 10.8 million or almost four times higher compared to the same period of the previous year, when it was EUR 2.8 million. The full-year profit in 2019 was EUR 3.6 million. It is clear that 2020 will be a record year for CGES.

In 2020, the company’s electricity transit revenues tripled to EUR 11.6 million compared to the previous year, due to the effects of the commercial use of the submarine power link between Montenegro and Italy.

On the other hand, EMS reported EUR 8.3 million in profit for 2019. The data for 2020 are not yet available.