It is almost a certainty that Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) will retain its first-place position for operating revenues generated in 2025 in the upcoming Top 100 publication.
EPS held this top spot based on its inflows during 2024 as well, and over the past year, the figures have “grown” slightly. At first glance, there are no major shifts in the rankings among the top five companies from 2024 in this category based on their 2025 performance.
In 2024, EPS secured first place thanks to operating revenues worth approximately 444 billion dinars. At the time, this accounted for 2.3% of the operating revenues of the entire economy. These revenues were primarily collected through the sale of products and services on the domestic market, amounting to 435.2 billion dinars.
In 2025, EPS generated around 460 billion dinars in operating revenues. Higher revenues were achieved partly due to an increase in the price of electricity for households. For the first nine months of the year, the previous price remained in effect.
“Starting from 1 October 2025, the Decision on the Regulated Price of Electricity for Guaranteed Supply, which received regulatory approval, has been applied. This led to a cumulative increase in the average selling price of 8.5%, with a 1.9% increase resulting from lowering the threshold between the ‘red’ and ‘blue’ zones. The remaining 6.6% increase stems from rising access costs for the distribution and transmission systems. In 2025, the realised average selling price of electricity under guaranteed supply amounted to 10.579 rsd/kWh (2024: 10.310 rsd/kWh),” as noted in the footnotes to the EPS financial report.
Conversely, sales on foreign markets were almost halved, plummeting from around 6.3 billion to 3.3 billion dinars. Nevertheless, EPS ended the year with a profit of 38.6 billion dinars, which is nearly 60 per cent higher than in 2024.
NIS under the pressure of sanctions
Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) concluded last year with operating revenues worth 266.2 billion dinars. This is nearly a third less than the previous year, when they brought in around 386 billion dinars. Even 2024 was not easy for the company, as it saw a 15.8 per cent drop in domestic market sales.
Over the past year, however, the situation grew even tougher. From October, the company found itself targeted by US sanctions. Revenues from the sale of goods on the domestic market plummeted from 73.4 billion to just 17.7 billion dinars. Revenue from the sale of products on the Serbian market fell from around 263 billion to approximately 216 billion dinars. Inflows from foreign market sales also shrunk, dropping from around 51 billion to roughly 36 billion dinars.
“The deterioration of the geopolitical situation as a result of further developments in Ukraine has led to increased volatility in commodity and financial markets. The average price of oil in 2025 was $69.11 per barrel, which is 14% lower than in the same period of 2024, prompting the Serbian government to introduce short-term caps on the retail prices of petroleum products. It is impossible to determine how long this heightened volatility will last. Numerous sanctions have been announced to restrict the operations of Russian entities, and in such a scenario, this could further impact the company’s business. The company is currently continuing to assess the impact of the new sanctions on its operations,” reads a section of the notes accompanying the financial report.
Consequently, NIS finished last year with a net loss of 12.2 billion dinars. A year earlier, its already reduced profit had stood at 18.3 billion dinars.
Zijin Copper doubles its profit
In 2024, Serbia Zijin Copper increased its operating revenues by a staggering 72 per cent, climbing to third place across the entire economy by reaching 205.2 billion dinars. Last year, they boosted their revenues even further, counting a total of 227 billion dinars.
Their success in 2024 was driven by a doubling of sales of products and services on foreign markets, with sales of copper cathodes, gold, silver, and copper concentrate standing out in particular.
This trend persisted into 2025. Foreign market sales brought in a massive 163 billion dinars – 13 billion more than the previous year. On the domestic market, they raked in around 64 billion dinars, just under 20 billion more than the year before.
“The majority of the revenue was generated from product sales, namely copper cathodes (173.4 billion), gold (48.3 billion), silver (4.6 billion), and other products (1.2 billion). Revenue from the sale of products and services to related legal entities amounted to 55.7 billion dinars (25%), whilst revenue from the sale of goods and services to third parties stood at 171.9 billion (75%),” the financial notes state.
Ultimately, Zijin Copper ended the year with a profit of around 61 billion dinars, doubling its earnings compared to the end of 2024.
From Bor to the world
Its sister company, Serbia Zijin Mining from Bor, was fifth on the list of highest operating revenues in 2024. This year – though the official list will only be finalised once the Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR) compiles the publication – it could secure fourth place. In 2025, they recorded roughly 213 billion dinars in operating revenues, nearly 33 billion more than the previous year.
Even the 180 billion dinars achieved in 2024 represented a 37 per cent growth compared to the year prior to that.
This growth was fueled by revenues from the sale of products and services on international markets, based on contracted sales of copper ore concentrate containing copper and gold. These sales rose by 36.3%, reaching 176,540 million dinars.
During 2025, almost all operating revenues flowed in from foreign market sales, amounting to around 210 billion dinars.
Zijin Mining’s net profit reached 133.2 billion dinars last year, an increase of a whopping 50 billion compared to 2024. Out of the five companies with major operating revenues, this represents the highest profit recorded last year.
Srbijagas left without subsidies
Srbijagas recorded lower operating revenues last year than in 2024, causing it to slip from the fourth position. Last year, they brought in 143.8 billion dinars, which is about 38 billion less than the year before.
The company had already slipped by one place in 2024 compared to 2023.
(Forbes Serbia, 02.07.2026)