Ljubljana, 26 April (STA) - The state got record dividends from investments in equity stakes last year, with payout totalling EUR 211m or 49% more than in 2016, shows the annual report of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH).
This is just the amount of dividends SSH collected on behalf of the state; it got an additional EUR 46m from stakes it owns directly, up 4.8% over the year before.
Two banks, Abanka and NLB, contributed almost two-thirds of the dividends incumbent on the state (EUR 133m), followed by Telekom Slovenije (EUR 20.5m) and insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav (EUR 19.6m).
Triglav and drug maker Krka were the main source of dividends for SSH (EUR 30.6m).
The report shows the portfolio of equity in state ownership was worth EUR 10.8bn at the end of the year, with return on equity at 6.2%, a full percentage point above the statutory target.
SSH expects the state's dividend payments to drop to EUR 177m this year (dividends will be paid from profit for 2017).
SSH finished 2017 with a net profit of EUR 32m, down 37% over the year before on account of fresh provisioning for denationalisation claims.