Ljubljana, 15 May (STA) - The government approved on Thursday the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) annual management plan for state-owned assets for 2025. The core principle is to boost productivity within state-owned companies, though return on equity and dividends are projected slightly lower than last year.
The plan, derived from the recently revised state asset management strategy and aligned with legislation governing the Šoštanj Power Plant's new operating regime under the coal phase-out, sets the framework for SSH's management activities.
It articulates the state's expectations as owner and establishes a system for monitoring companies' progress towards their 2025 objectives.
SSH intends to drive the productivity increase by encouraging companies to intensify investment in core operations, research and development, innovation, digital transformation, and staff development.
A significant step in this direction is the introduction, for the first time, of productivity targets across the entire portfolio of the state asset custodian, with a projected value added per employee of EUR 86,000 for the year.
Alongside productivity, sustainable operations are a key pillar. SSH will integrate sustainability performance indicators into management remuneration schemes and oversee companies' adherence to European standards for disclosures and reporting.
The plan also encompasses objectives to enhance corporate governance, strengthen operational compliance and integrity, and boost overall business efficiency.
While last year's portfolio return on equity is estimated to have reached 9.8%, surpassing the 6.7% target, the projection for 2025 is a more modest 7.1%.
SSH has indicated that actual portfolio profitability will hinge on numerous external economic factors, which remain difficult to predict reliably due to current uncertainties. Similarly, total dividends from companies managed by SSH are planned at EUR 464.1 million for this year, compared to EUR 487.6 million collected last year.
Among its central projects for the year, SSH highlighted the restructuring of the Farme Ihan livestock group. This initiative aims to secure stable, long-term sustainable operations, preserve the vital vertical agri-food chain, and thereby contribute to bolstering food security in Slovenia.
The plan also includes an examination and implementation of necessary activities to strengthen the Slovenian capital market. Officials from the Finance Ministry have recently mentioned that consideration is being given to which state-owned companies might, in this context, be suitable for at least partial listing on the stock exchange.
Routine management activities will continue to involve monitoring the execution of strategies and strategic projects in companies wholly owned by the state or SSH. This includes adapting to shifts in the international business environment, implementing diversity policies, and defining appropriate dividend policies.
For selected companies, specific financial and operational restructuring measures will be undertaken to establish long-term sustainable business models.
In managing companies designated as portfolio assets, SSH will exclusively pursue economic objectives. However, in line with the revised state assets management strategy, sheltered workshops represent an exception; for these entities, alongside economic goals, corporate social responsibility objectives will also be actively pursued.
The last major overhauls of the state asset management strategy were executed in March this year and before that in July 2024 when the strategy dealt with a total of 84 companies with state capital investment, including 34 strategic companies.
In March, Farme Ihan as well as the Šoštanj power plant and the Velenje coal mine, both recently nationalised due to deep financial problems, were newly designated as strategic assets.
