Financial disclosures from the Montenegro Stock Exchange have revealed a stark contrast in the performance of state-owned enterprises throughout 2025. While firms within the tourism and agriculture sectors demonstrated signs of recovery, the energy sector faced significant financial challenges, primarily due to an extended shutdown of coal-fired power generation facilities.
The rehabilitation sector showed marked improvement, notably with the Institut Simo Milošević reporting a net profit of approximately €6.5 million, marking its second consecutive year of profitability after enduring prolonged financial difficulties. The organization’s revenues rose to around €15.8 million, driven by increased patient volumes and revised reimbursement agreements with Montenegro’s Health Insurance Fund. Additionally, the company benefited from extraordinary income derived from selling a former children’s department building to the state, which plans to repurpose the site into a new educational facility in Igalo.
This financial turnaround has significantly decreased accumulated historical losses, which declined from roughly €29 million to about €21.7 million, suggesting that recent restructuring efforts are beginning to yield positive results.
Similarly, Plantaže, the wine producer, exhibited a stabilization trend as it remained profitable for a second year while working on reducing debt incurred during previous governance and liquidity crises. This recovery is particularly noteworthy given that just a few years prior, Plantaže’s shares were subjected to enhanced market supervision due to severe criticism from state auditors regarding corporate governance issues.
Conversely, the energy sector experienced one of its most challenging financial years recently. The state utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore reported a net loss of approximately €92 million, primarily attributed to the prolonged offline status of its coal-fired thermal power plant, which underwent reconstruction for over eight months. As a result, the utility was compelled to import around 1,341 GWh of electricity at market prices significantly higher than regulated domestic tariffs, costing approximately €142 million.
Total revenues for EPCG fell to about €397 million, while operating expenses surged to approximately €466 million, largely due to high electricity import costs. This financial loss eliminated previously accumulated retained earnings and resulted in negative accumulated equity by year-end.
However, early figures from the first quarter of 2026 indicate a swift recovery. Following the thermal power plant’s restart and improved hydrological conditions, EPCG reported net income of approximately €36.4 million in the first three months of 2026, effectively offsetting last year’s deficit and restoring positive retained earnings.
The coal producer Rudnik uglja Pljevlja also faced repercussions from the thermal plant’s outage, highlighting the operational interdependence between Montenegro’s coal mining and power generation sectors. Together, EPCG and Rudnik uglja Pljevlja incurred combined losses nearing €100 million during this period.
In contrast, grid operator Crnogorski elektroprenosni sistem maintained a positive performance with profits around €21 million, although this figure was lower than in previous years due to adjustments made by the energy regulator concerning transmission-related tariff components for the 2025–2026 regulatory period.
The tourism sector displayed mixed results. Ulcinjska rivijera saw modest profitability improvements driven by operations at Ada Bojana, while Budvanska rivijera faced significant earnings declines as tourism revenues weakened compared to an exceptionally strong prior year.
Taken together, these reports illustrate a broader structural divide within Montenegro’s state-owned sector. While tourism-linked entities and those undergoing financial restructuring are gradually stabilizing after years of balance-sheet strain, the energy sector continues to grapple with risks related to generation concentration, hydrological variability, and the costs associated with maintaining aging thermal infrastructure amidst a slow transition towards a more diversified energy mix.
