Despite the crisis, the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) will continue to invest in key projects, which will bring the most benefits to the company in the future, pointed out the Deputy General Director and Finance Director of NIS, Anton Cherepanov.
He stated in the author’s text in the magazine “Business” that the situation we are currently facing rightly can be called the biggest challenge for oil companies in the last few decades.
“When it comes to the oil industry, the scale of the crisis is best illustrated by several data: in just one day in early March, oil lost as much as 30 percent of its value, demand for this fuel has almost halved compared to expected levels quick or easy recovery,” assessed Cherepanov. He added that this crisis, quite unexpectedly, did not bypass NIS, as well as that unfavorable trends significantly affected the business results in the first quarter of this year.
“We ended the first quarter with a loss of 9.1 million euros, but we kept the EBITDA indicator at a positive level of 43.3 million euros. It is important to note that, despite everything, we invested 64.1 million euros in further development. “The market is recovering at a slow pace and we still have a lot of unknowns about the new coronavirus, the consequences of the epidemic will significantly affect our performance in the second quarter,” said Cherepanov.
Cherepanov assessed that NIS has been acting quickly and decisively since the beginning of the crisis, with the belief that only a proactive approach can preserve the company and social security for employees, it is said in the announcement of the Oil Industry of Serbia.
He added that now is the time for the company to be agile and for disciplined implementation of measures that will preserve the company’s financial health even under conditions of low oil prices.
“First of all, we entered the crisis with excellent financial results and operational indicators. Financial discipline and operational efficiency are also allies of NIS at the moment. We have a team of over 11,000 motivated professionals whose expertise and commitment came to full expression during unusual work, in the conditions of the fight against COVID-19 and market volatility. Thanks to that, we quickly adapted to the new conditions and organized remote work for employees in the administration, with the digitalization of a large number of processes that were previously implemented in paper form,” said Cherepanov.
All that, he adds, enabled NIS to amortize the first wave of the crisis, relying on its own forces, and for this company to look at the continuation of the year with much more optimism.
According to him, financial discipline and preservation of liquidity are the priorities of NIS at the moment, while savings in all areas that are not crucial for business and strengthening business efficiency are the long-term focus of the company.
“However, previous crises have taught us that we must not lose sight of the further development of the company. Therefore, we will continue to invest in our key projects that will bring us the most benefits in the future. Only in this way can we get out of the current circumstances.
“This is expected from NIS. To be a strong company that significantly contributes to the budget of Serbia and which with its investments drives the domestic economy. To preserve the social stability of employees and create new values for its shareholders,” Cherepanov concluded, Dnevnik reports.
