Annual report 2019

REPORT BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ON BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, ASSETS AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN 2019 AND INFORMATION ON THE BUSINESS PLAN Dear Shareholders, The year 2018 was very successful for our Company in terms of economics and operations. However, also given the information available during the preparation of the plan for 2019, we could not count on another extraordinary year. The expected cooling in the markets and demand occurred and after a very strong Q1 2019, global trade slowed, including the market for seamless steel tubes and demand for our products. This slowdown was considerable, especially in the second half of the year, when the prices of our products decreased significantly. It is a positive that despite the decline in sales and lower profitability of the parent company as well as subsidiary companies, almost all companies in the ŽP GROUP reported positive financial results and maintained or strengthened their market positions.