The SBI TOP started the year at just under 708 points and reached its peak for the year at 828.7 points at the end of August, when dividends vested. It closed at 806.5 points on the last trading day of the year.

The biggest gainer among the blue chips was logistics company Intereuropa, which surged almost 70% after languishing for years.

Chemical company Cinkarna Celje was up 34%, insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav gained almost 25% and port operator Luka Koper added just under 22%.

Big-cap stocks were more subdued but still performed well, with Telekom Slovenije adding almost 17%, drug maker Krka almost 9% and energy company Petrol 7.5%.

The biggest loser among the blue chips was home appliances maker Gorenje, which plunged 15%.

Krka was by far the busiest share, accounting for EUR 141.4m of the annual turnover. Zavarovalnica Triglav added EUR 40.9m and Petrol EUR 35.5m.

The market started the year strong overall buoyed by solid growth, as turnover surged by 30% year-on-year in the January-May period.

But then came the problems with retailer Mercator (which lost 70% over the year before) and its Croatian parent company Agrokor, which depressed the market.

The stock exchange operator was also hoping for a surge from the IPO of NLB, Slovenia's biggest bank, but privatisation has been deferred until at least the end of 2018.

Sašo Stanovnik, the chief economic of the brokerage Alta, told the STA year was positive overall given that the 12% gain for the SBI TOP was coupled with an average dividend yield of 5%.

Companies also reported strong profits as they benefited from robust domestic demand and exports, whereas their overall indebtedness declined.

Stanovnik expects growth to slow down next year since Croatian pension funds have reduced their activity in the aftermath of the collapse of Agrokor and there is an absence of a catalyst to drive growth.

On the other hand, NLB broker Anže Habjan expects the dynamic to continue given that the price-to-earnings ratio in Ljubljana is still fairly low.