Yesterday marked a day of high volatility due to the Ukraine – Russia uncertainty, with the SBITOP declining by as much as -4% intraday, while CROBEX10 declined by -2%.

The volatility on the Croatia and Slovenia stock exchanges has increased significantly yesterday, when on the back of the growing uncertainty tied to the Russia – Ukraine tensions (of which the latest relates to the recognition of the two separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk by Russia), CROBEX10 and SBITOP declined by as much as -2% and -4%, respectively.

However, the story doesn’t stop here. By the end of the day, the indices approached 0% change as the news and tensions slowed down, with CROBEX10 and SBITOP ending the day at -1.23% and -1.88%, respectively. If we were to look at the index constituents, however, we can see that some companies were affected a lot more than others.

Starting off with Croatia’s CROBEX10 constituents, we have AD Plastik, which declined by -3.16%, followed by Arena Hospitality Group with -2.72%, Adris with -2.36%, and Podravka, with -2.1%. On the flipside, Atlantska Plovidba was the only company to experience an increase (+0.99%), while HT, Ericsson NT, and Valamar Riviera all had decreases of lower than -1%, that is, -0.53%, -0.8%, and -0.88%, respectively. In total, the market saw a turnover of HRK 10.3m (excluding block trades), out of which, HRK 5.64m was the turnover of stocks in the CROBEX10 index.

Next up, we have Slovenia’s SBITOP constituents. Krka decreased by -4%, followed by Triglav with -1.6%, Luka Koper with -1.57%, Cinkarna Celje with -1.54% and Petrol with -1.53%. On the flip side, Sava Re was the only one to have an increase, growing by +0.36%. In total, the turnover on the LJSE has been EUR 3.55m, out of which, EUR 3.53m was the turnover of stocks in the SBITOP index.

The high volatility experienced on both regional stock exchanges continues the trend that has been seen in the last couple of weeks, a trend of uncertainty and high tensions in Ukraine driving high volatility, which can be especially severe on less liquid regional markets (and stocks).

In 2021, NIS experienced an increase in sales of 61%, an increase of EBITDA of 236% YoY, and a net profit of RSD 21bn.

Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) has published its FY 2021 results on the Belgrade Stock Exchange. According to the report, the Company’s sales revenue amounted to RSD 295.2bn, an increase of 61% YoY. This increase was driven by the increase in oil prices (Brent Dtd increased by 70%, ended the year at USD 70.7/bbl), as well as the increase in total petroleum product sales volume, which increased by 14% and amounted to 4,031k tons. Both of these increases were driven by the economic recovery and easing of restrictive measures from the pandemic, which increased the demand for oil, as well as petroleum products.

The Company’s EBITDA amounted to RSD 53.2bn, an increase of 236% YoY, due to the aforementioned increases in oil prices, cheaper inventories of previous periods in refining compared to 2020, as well as higher sales and refining volumes. Breaking the EBITDA by segments, the Upstream segment contributed with RSD 30.4bn, while the Downstream segment contributed with RSD 22.8bn. This would also put the Company at an EBITDA margin of 19.1%.

At the same time, operating expenses increased as well, growing to RSD 266.1bn, an increase of 39.2% (or RSD 74.5bn) YoY. The purchase of oil, gas, and petroleum products (a subsection of operating expenses) was the main driver of this increase, growing by 56.1% and amounting to RSD 179.1bn.

Lastly, the Company’s net profit amounted to RSD 21bn, an increase of RSD 28.5bn (compared to the negative RSD 7.57bn in 2020), mainly driven by the EBITDA growth as well as higher depreciation costs.

Looking over at investments, the Company has almost completely finished the TE-TO Pančevo project, an investment worth app. EUR 180m, with a nominal capacity of 200 Mwt. In total during the year, the Company’s CAPEX amounted to RSD 20.2bn, a decrease of 20% YoY.

2022 Business Plan

In 2022, the Company plans a CAPEX of RSD 25bn, which will be used to implement further development and modernization of the company, as well as the realization of key projects. They also plan to further develop the retail network in Serbia and the region, through the construction of new facilities and the reconstruction of existing PSs (Power Stations). In total, this would amount to 3 new PSs as well as 5 reconstructed ones. The Company also plans to launch the operation of the combined cycle plant Te-TO Pančevo.

To review the entire financial report, click here.