News
11.12.2015 Changes in the Management Board of PGNiG S.A.
On December 11th 2015, the Supervisory Board of PGNiG S.A. removed Mariusz Zawisza from his position as President of the Management Board, and Zbigniew Skrzypkiewicz and Jarosław Bauc from their positions as Vice-Presidents of the Management Board. Piotr Woźniak – Member of the PGNiG Supervisory Board, former Minister of the Economy, former Vice-Minister of the Environment and Chief National Geologist – was appointed acting President of the Company’s Management Board for the period from December 11th 2015 to March 11th 2016.
For two years under the direction of Mariusz Zawisza, the PGNiG Management Board prepared the PGNiG Group to operate on a liberalised gas market and strengthened its position. It carried out a number of restructuring, efficiency improvement and customer-oriented initiatives, establishing retail trade company PGNiG Obrót Detaliczny, reducing tariffs, and introducing discount schemes for both wholesale and retail customers, which counteracted the loss of share in the market.
In connection with the delayed construction of the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście, PGNiG executed a memorandum with Qatargas, protecting the Company from charges for uncollected gas. PGNiG also commenced renegotiation of the Yamal Contract. Despite the matter having been placed before the Arbitration Court in Stockholm, the Company continued negotiations on reducing the price of gas.
The ongoing restructuring of the Group and implementation of a new management model translated into robust financial performance in the past year. In 2014, the PGNiG Group earned over PLN 2.8bn in net profit, up 47% year on year, while EBITDA grew by 13%, to PLN 6.3bn, compared with PLN 5.6bn in 2013.
Despite declining oil prices, the PGNiG Group earned a net profit of nearly PLN 1.9bn in H1 2015, up 23% year on year. Such strong performance was attributable chiefly to the consistent pursuit of the efficiency improvement programme at all Group companies.
In August 2015, the Company paid a record-breaking dividend of PLN 0.20 per share, with the distributed amount totalling PLN 1.18bn. In addition, in H1 2015 the Company’s net debt came down to a record low level, and its share price reached an all-time high at the close of trading at PLN 6.98 (in the course of the trading session the price peaked at PLN 7.03).
In the area of exploration and production (a pillar of the Group’s strategy for 2014–2022), PGNiG, under the direction of Mariusz Zawisza, acquired new fields in Norway and Germany, and opened a gas production facility in Pakistan. The Company was able to maintain domestic production at unchanged levels despite continued exploitation of the resources.
PGNiG Press Team
