Annual report 2019

22 Železiarne Podbrezová a.s.: ANNUAL REPORT 2019 In 2019, the Company supported 21 employees to study while working to increase their qualification with work concessions. Fifteen of them are studying for a bachelor’s degree in metallurgy, one employee is studying for an engineering degree at the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology of the Slovak Technical University and one employee was awarded an engineering degree at the Technical University in Košice. Železiarne Podbrezová has a tradition of cooperating with universities, also thanks to a memorandum signed in 2017 on practical cooperation with eight universities. We have cooperated most with the Faculty of Materials, Metallurgy and Recycling of the Technical University in Košice, with which we organise open-door days at our school and at the faculty, where we present study opportunities and graduate job opportunities at our Company. The Company offers university scholarships to selected talentedsecondaryschool students from our private schools. We cooperate with the Matej Bel University, especiallywith the IT Department, in connection with secondary school IT classes and our subsidiary, ŽP Informatika, s.r.o. We also cooperate with other departments as required. Targeted cooperation with universities includes scholarships, professional internships, and graduation theses and is focused on obtaining qualified employees for the Company. In 2019, the Company’s full-time equivalent decreased to 3 190, a decrease by 14 employees (0.4%) compared to the previous year. The decrease in the headcount correlated with the decrease in contracts and shift work to which work schedules and staffing normswere adjusted during the year. The average monthly income of Company employees in 2019 was EUR 1 300, a 3.1% increase compared to the previous year. The added value work productivity amounted to EUR 25 866 per employee, which is a decrease (12%) compared to the previous year. Compared to the average wage of industry employees in the Slovak Republic, the average wage at Železiarne Podbrezová is higher by 11%. The average income for 2019 for blue- collar employees was EUR 1 119 per employee, up by EUR 42 (3.9%) compared to 2018. The subsidiaries of the ŽP GROUP employed an additional 1 114 employees in 2019, an increase of 1 employee compared to 2018. Of the total number of employees of subsidiaries, in Slovakia 845 employees worked in production and services and 53 employees worked at ŽP’s private school. Another 216 employees worked for other companies abroad. In total, the ŽP GROUP employed 4 304 employees in 2019. Our newspaper, Podbrezovan, is the oldest company newspaper in Slovakia and has been published for more than 70 years. Podbrezovan is distributed to current and retired employees, who receive information about Company life. The newspaper is an irreplaceable source of information for Company employees and the general public in the region about operations at the parent company and its subsidiaries and is published every two weeks with a circulation of approx. 6 000 copies. Our Company’s reputation has also been enhanced in the recent years by ourmanagement of Ľupča Castle, which is open to the general public. In cooperation with conservation authorities, Ľupča Castle is being restored to its original appearance using grant programmes. As a result of these activities and various cultural events, the interest of the general public in this historical monument continues to grow and in 2019 there were a record number of visitors – 21 951, a 5% increase compared to 2018. REPORT BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ON BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, ASSETS AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN 2019 AND INFORMATION ON THE BUSINESS PLAN