PGNiG reduces costs and plans acquisitions

State controlled PGNiG announced it will cut administrative costs by PLN 1 billion by 2016, as part of a new strategy. “Since December we are working on our ‘zero initiative’ under which we are examining expenditures. The results of the audit will influence general management costs,” Mariusz Zawisza, the CEO of PGNiG told Puls Biznesu. Changes began with reduction of the size of the board. Jerzy Kurella, the vice-chairman, had been laid off in December and no successor has been appointed since.  The company is also evaluating its assets (real estates and subsidiaries) and does not rule out selling some of them. Acquisitions are the second leg of the new strategy. “We have an appetite for purchasing heating networks. We may be a partner for local governments, which are struggling with outstanding debt. We are not excluding cooperation with business entities either,” Zawisza said. PGNiG is one of the largest companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which specializes in exploration of natural gas and crude oil.