NIS, Serbia’s largest oil and gas company, reported its annual financial results, revealing a significant decline in net profit for 2024. The company’s net profit amounted to 18 billion dinars, a sharp drop compared to the 41 billion dinars posted in 2023. This marks the worst performance since 2020, when NIS recorded a loss.
According to the financial report published on the Agency for Economic Registers (APR) website, NIS’ total revenue in 2024 stood at 392 billion dinars, down from 402.7 billion dinars in the previous year. Meanwhile, the company’s expenditures increased, reaching 369.8 billion dinars in 2024, compared to 352.9 billion dinars in 2023.
The decrease in revenue was roughly 10 billion dinars, while expenditures saw a rise of 16.9 billion dinars. As a result, the net income in 2024 was 18.3 billion dinars, down from 41.9 billion in 2023, reflecting a reduction of 23.6 billion dinars.
A significant factor contributing to the rise in costs was the increase in the purchase value of sold goods, which jumped from 29.5 billion dinars in 2023 to 70.3 billion dinars in 2024, as noted in the financial report.
Additionally, NIS has faced challenges due to its association with the Russian company Gazprom Neft. On January 10, the United States imposed sanctions on NIS due to its stake in Gazprom Neft, although the implementation of the sanctions has been delayed twice. As of the end of March, a second 30-day extension for the government of Serbia was granted, and a permanent resolution is yet to be determined.
The sanctions led to difficulties with banking transactions for NIS customers, with some users experiencing issues paying for fuel using payment cards at gas stations, especially in February when banks were required to block transactions. Serbia has not imposed its own sanctions on Russia, maintaining a reliance on Russian gas, with Gazprom purchasing a majority stake in NIS for 400 million euros in 2008.
