May 12 (SeeNews) - Serbian oil and gas group NIS [BEL:NIIS] swung to a net profit of 1.5 billion dinars ($15.5 million/12.8 million euro) in the first quarter of 2021 from a 1.1 billion dinars net loss in the like period of last year, it said.
Although operations in the first quarter of 2021 were strongly influenced by circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, NIS significantly improved its financial results, while at the same time caring about the health of employees, associates and consumers, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to 9.4 billion dinars, up 81% on the year, while liabilities in terms of taxes and other public revenues rose 12% to 44.6 billion dinars, the company said.
NIS invested 4.1 billion dinars in the first three months of 2021, the Serbian group said.
Oil and gas production amounted to 292,000 tonnes of oil equivalent, down from 319,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2020, and 752,000 tonnes of crude oil and semi-finished product were processed, down from 860,000 tonnes, NIS noted.
"The results achieved in the first quarter of 2021 showed the correctness of NIS’s business model in conditions of crisis and our perseverance to best deal with negative trends. However, we are aware that the crisis has not yet passed and that numerous challenges remain ahead of us," the CEO of NIS, Kirill Tyurdenev, said in the statement. "This is why we will remain committed to systematically improving efficiency in all areas, financial discipline and the completion of capital projects that will strengthen our competitiveness."
NIS, 56.15%-owned by Gazprom, is one of the largest vertically integrated oil and gas companies in Southeast Europe. Its main activities include the exploration, production and processing of oil and gas, as well as the production and retail trade with a wide range of petroleum products. Serbia's government owns a 29.87% stake inNIS.
(1 euro = 117.604 dinars)
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