With the H1 earnings season behind us, we take a closer look at the margin dynamics of Slovenian blue chips, focusing on EBITDA and net income margins. Broadly speaking, all observed companies recorded an increase in EBITDA margin, while 7 out of 9 constituents also improved their net profitability.
The across-the-board rise in operating profitability is hardly surprising, as every SBITOP constituent reported higher revenues, which in turn helped push stronger EBITDA and EBITDA margins.
It is worth noting that NLB, Triglav, and Sava Re were excluded from the EBITDA margin comparison, as banks and insurers have differently structured P&L that do now allow for EBITDA margin extraction.
Comparison of the EBITDA margins of Slovenian blue chips (H1 2025 vs H1 2024, %)
Source: Companies’ data, InterCapital Research
Among the remaining companies, Equinox posted the highest EBITDA margin at 78.0%, up 2 p.p. YoY. The real estate company delivered strong sales growth of 29.4% YoY, compared to just 2.6% YoY growth in OPEX and D&A, supported by the full operationalization of previously non-functional or investment-stage assets.
Luka Koper followed with a 36.3% margin, up 3.2 p.p. YoY. This was driven by higher revenues on the back of increased volumes and a favorable maritime throughput mix, while operating expenses grew more modestly, mainly due to higher labor costs linked to business expansion.
Telekom Slovenije reported a margin of 35.5%, up 0.5 p.p. YoY. The improvement stemmed from a favorable revenue mix, with growth in fixed end-user services offsetting a weaker wholesale segment. Operating expenses rose at a slower pace, though labor costs and D&A linked to higher CAPEX continued to put pressure on costs.
Krka saw stable operating profitability at 28.9%, just 0.1 p.p. higher YoY. This was expected, as the company is already operating near peak EBITDA profitability, which is likely to normalize in the coming periods.
Cinkarna Celje achieved the largest margin improvement, up 5.1 p.p. YoY to 20.5%. This was driven by higher sales volumes and stronger pricing of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment, supported by EU-imposed anti-dumping measures.
Finally, Petrol improved its EBITDA margin by 0.5 p.p. to 4.9%, supported by higher sales across all markets and higher capped margins in Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia. However, since mid-June, margin regulation in Slovenia has been extended to highway service stations, which is expected to exert additional pressure going forward.
Comparison of the net income margins of Slovenian blue chips (H1 2025 vs H1 2024, %)
Source: Companies’ data, InterCapital Research
Turning to net income, 7 out of 9 blue chips recorded YoY margin improvements. Among the companies covered above, only Telekom Slovenije posted a slight decline, with its net margin slipping 0.2 p.p. YoY to 8.3%.
NLB achieved the highest net margin at 43.0%, though this represented a 5.4 p.p. decline YoY. This was in line with expectations, as monetary policy tailwinds are fading and elevated interest rate-driven profitability is no longer sustainable.
Triglav maintained a stable net margin of 8.6%, up 0.3 p.p., while Sava Re recorded an improvement of 1.6 p.p. to 9.5%, supported by stronger underwriting margins.
Overall, H1 2025 was positive for Slovenian blue chips, with most companies delivering solid YoY profitability improvements. While some are facing normalization pressures or regulatory headwinds, the broader trend remains upward. This is further confirmed by the 8% YoY increase in the weighted net profit of all SBITOP constituents.