Croatian electricity generation, transmission and distribution operators saw their profits increase tenfold in 12 years, from 215 million kuna in 2008 to 2.2 billion kuna (€290 million) in 2019, a report compiled by the state's Financial Agency (FINA) showed.

The number of businesses engaged in electricity generation, transmission and distribution rose from 89 in 2008 to 708 in 2019, while at the same time the number of jobs in the sector fell from 13,465 to 11,274. The decrease was mainly due to job cuts at the state-owned HEP electricity distributor, from 9,271 in 2008 to 6,535 in 2019.

FINA noted that many of the companies established during this period had no or only a small number of employees. In 2019, out of a total of 708 companies, 458 were without any employees, while 159 had only one or two.

The total revenue of companies engaged in electricity generation, transmission and distribution increased from 21.1 billion kuna in 2008 to 29.6 billion kuna in 2019. Expenditures also went up, from 20.8 billion kuna to 27 billion kuna. Net profits rose from 215.5 million kuna in 2008 to 2.2 billion kuna in 2019, an increase of a staggering 938 percent.

The trade balance was negative throughout the reporting period. The largest trade deficit, of 4.4 billion kuna, was recorded in 2012 and the lowest, of 1.6 billion kuna, in 2014. In 2019, the trade deficit was 4.1 billion kuna, up 69 percent from the previous year.

The average net monthly salary in this sector increased from 6,386 kuna in 2008 to 8,000 kuna in 2019 ( up by 25.3 percent).

FINA recalled that the restructuring of the Croatian electricity sector began in 2001, while the formal liberalization of the power grid began in 2008. As of 1 July 2008, all consumers had options to choose their electricity provider.

During the 12-year period several competitors emerged on the electricity market, most of them after 2009.

The highest revenues and profits were generated by state-owned companies HEP (10.5 billion kuna in revenue and 1.1 billion kuna in profit) and HEP-Proizvodnja (4.2 billion kuna in revenue and 457 million kuna in profit).

Among the private owned companies, the highest revenues were generated by GEN-I Hrvatska (932.4 million kuna) and E.ON Energija, previously called RWE Energija (917.5 million kuna).

(€1 = 7.57 kuna)