Minister of Agriculture Ignas Hofmanas raises the question of the responsibility of the management of the "Lietuvos žirgynas "  company for its activities, which have had a negative impact on the company's finances.

„The management of the company had 3 years to show its competence and determination in managing the company effectively, and not to allow the company to run at a loss, so I would raise the question of responsibility“, – says the Minister of Agriculture, Ignas Hofmanas. Selling the cultural heritage property of the Rieste Stud Farm and transferring the state land – a decision by the current Director and Board. Apparently, the former ministry management did not oppose and supported it, but did not have time to implement it," says the minister.

I. Hofmanas categorically opposes the proposal to privatise the stud farm, which is responsible for preserving the gene pool of horses. He said that now is the time to reboot past unsustainable decisions. He points out that the letter of expectations, which is being interpreted by the current management of UAB „Lietuvos žirgynas“, is not even from the last Minister, but from the previous one, Kęstutis Navickas. The number of horses, especially those related to the gene pool, must not change. Only after a cost-benefit analysis will sustainable decisions be made on optimising activities or assets," emphasises Minister Hofmann.

According to the data available, in 2023, the turnover of the "Lietuvos žirgynas“" amounted to over EUR 2 million 200 thousand, and the state subsidy for the gene pool preservation function, together with direct payments, amounted to EUR 1.2 million.

Underperformance

The company was loss-making in 2020, 2022 and 2023. The retained loss for these three years (EUR 220 thousand) was carried forward to 2024. Although the company plans to end the three years with a net profit of EUR 85 thousand, this will only partially cover the loss of the three years – the remaining loss will be carried forward to 2025. The positive result for 2024 was due to the sale of an idle asset –a warehouse in Riese, for which the proceeds amounted to EUR 251 thousand. However, the company is continuously confronted with uneven negative cash flows and problems in meeting its obligations.

Decision on the sale of assets

On 21 October 2024, the Board of Directors of the company decided that the Vilnius site in Riese would be closed. And on 11 December, the Board decided to sell the company's redundant immovable property located in the territory of the Vilnius branch. A public auction for the sale of this property has not yet been announced. The terms of the auction are being coordinated with the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture and the National Land Service under the Ministry of Environment. The auction is planned to sell all the real estate belonging to the Vilnius Unit. In total, 23 properties of various purposes.

The property of the Vilnius branch of the company is located on a total area of over 200 ha of agricultural state land in Rieste. The National Land Service plans to form separate land plots under the buildings during February and March.

In September, the warehouse and sheds, together with the transfer of the lease right to a 0.5828 ha state land plot, were sold at a public auction for a total price of EUR 251,000.