The amount per share is two euro higher than last year when the company paid the highest ever dividend.

This year's dividends will be paid out to shareholders on 10 August; the ex-dividend date is 9 August.

"If we perform well we also pay out higher dividend," Petrol chairman Tomaž Berločnik said, noting that the energy group's growth was set as a goal in the most recent five-year-strategy.

Petrol shareholders had already distributed the entire distributable profit for dividends last year after endorsing a counter proposal by state shareholders raising the dividend to EUR 14 from EUR 12.35 per share.

Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) and affiliated Pension Fund Management (KAD) held a combined 21.5% in the company at the end of 2017 after holding 28.6% a year earlier.

The company's biggest single shareholder with 12.8% is the fiduciary account at the Czech Češkoslovenska Obchodni Bank A.S., followed by SSH with 12.68% and the Republic of Slovenia with 10.10%.

Other major owners include KAD (8.8%), and a client account with the Croatian bank Splitska Banka (4.88%).

At today's meeting 63.43% of the shareholders with voting rights were present and they carried decisions almost unanimously.

Apart from the dividend, they also granted discharge of liability to the management and supervisory board for 2017 and appointed Ernst&Young Revizija as auditor for 2018.

Present in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo with a total of 495 service stations, Petrol saw its group revenue grow by 17% to EUR 4.5bn and net profit by 12% to EUR 81.1m last year.

The company is drawing up a follow-up strategy by 2022. Asked about potential expansion of the service station network, Berločnik said no expansion or ventures into new markets were being planned for now.

"We're focused on south-eastern markets where we will enhance our network, while the goal for Slovenia is to preserve our market position."