Goša Montaža entered its partnership with Germany-based DSD in 2023 after several years of ownership consolidation, financial recovery and renewed industrial activity under Serbian control. The Serbian steel fabrication and industrial construction company had already returned to profitability and secured a nearly €29mn contract for work at the Đerdap 2 hydroelectric complex before DSD Steel Construction acquired a 50 per cent stake. The transaction therefore marked a new phase in Goša’s development rather than the beginning of its recovery.
From industrial heritage to employee ownership
Goša traces its industrial history to the Serbian-French Jasenica company established in 1923, while its steel construction activities date to the early 1930s. Over the decades, the business developed expertise in power plants, mining equipment, pipelines and heavy steel structures, becoming an important supplier to Serbia’s energy industry and the wider Yugoslav industrial market.
Its contemporary ownership structure emerged from the 2006 privatisation, when a consortium of 272 employees acquired Goša Montaža. The employee-owned model helped preserve its engineering capabilities and supported investment in equipment, but ownership remained highly fragmented. By 2018, Goša had 705 shareholders and no dominant owner. Operating revenue was approximately RSD1.17bn, while net profit amounted to only RSD5.8mn, leaving a profit margin below 0.5 per cent.
The fragmented ownership became the focus of a takeover effort in 2019, when Serbian engineering company DECO began accumulating shares. Goša’s management characterised the move as hostile and sought to resist it through an unusually large dividend. By November 2019, DECO had increased its holding to 50.3 per cent. The ownership struggle coincided with a sharp deterioration in Goša’s financial results: revenue dropped to approximately RSD852mn, while the company recorded a RSD510mn net loss. Average employment fell to 434 from 464 in the previous year.
DECO consolidates control before DSD enters
DECO continued increasing its stake, moving above two-thirds in 2020 and approaching 90 per cent by 2022. In September of that year, it compulsorily acquired the remaining shares. A subsequent restructuring transferred 62.5 per cent of Goša to Frotingam, a related company, while DECO retained 37.5 per cent. The transaction ended the company’s period of widely dispersed employee and minority ownership.
Goša was subsequently delisted from the Belgrade Stock Exchange and changed its legal form from a public joint-stock company to a private limited-liability company in February 2023. Its financial recovery had begun before that restructuring was completed. Goša returned to profit in 2020. Revenue reached approximately RSD1.8bn in 2021, when net profit increased to RSD197mn. In March 2022, the company also secured a nearly €29mn contract for works on the navigation lock at the Đerdap 2 hydroelectric complex, providing a significant infrastructure order before the arrival of DSD.
DSD brings international industrial links
In May 2023, DSD Steel Construction acquired 50 per cent of Goša, with Frotingam retaining the remaining half. The purchase price and terms of the shareholders’ agreement have not been disclosed. Although DSD is described as German because its industrial operations are centred in Germany, Goša’s direct shareholder is DSD Steel Construction AG, a Swiss company that also owns Germany-based DSD Steel Group.
The DSD group operates across areas including metallurgy, hydraulic steelwork, power plants, bridges, cranes and process engineering. Goša contributes an established fabrication and site-assembly operation, engineering capabilities and relationships with Serbian energy and infrastructure customers. The ownership arrangement gives DSD access to Serbian industrial capacity while providing Goša with international project management, engineering integration and access to European contracts. The equal ownership structure leaves Frotingam with local influence while DSD contributes international industrial connections.
Goša’s subsequent financial performance has strengthened. Reported revenue increased from RSD2.47bn in 2023 to RSD3.77bn in 2025. Net profit rose from RSD177mn to RSD346mn, while EBITDA almost doubled to RSD530mn.
Employment increased from 129 to 262, while the 2025 net margin reached approximately 9.2 per cent. Equity also strengthened, and the current ratio improved from 1.21 to 1.47.
Corporate restructuring complicates performance comparisons
The growth cannot be attributed entirely to DSD. Serbian inflation contributed to nominal revenue increases, while Goša remains exposed to domestic energy and state-backed infrastructure activity. Revenue expanded sharply in 2024, but the net margin subsequently declined before recovering in 2025, illustrating the variability associated with major engineering projects. Changes within the wider Goša corporate structure also make comparisons across years more difficult. The reported workforce declined from 312 employees in 2020 to 53 in 2021, even as revenue doubled.
That period coincided with the development of Goša Montaža Inženjering, a subsidiary that was later sold to Frotingam. The divergence between employment and revenue indicates that some activities may have moved between related companies rather than reflecting a straightforward increase in productivity. DSD’s 2023 transaction covered 50 per cent of Goša Montaža itself, rather than half of the broader group of Goša-related companies controlled by the Serbian owners. The distinction is relevant when assessing the scale and financial performance of the business placed under joint ownership.
European projects expand Goša’s international references
There are indications that the international strategy is generating new project exposure. Goša has participated in the GET H2 Nukleus green-hydrogen project in Lingen, Germany, where its work includes the erection of cooling towers, platforms and related components. Participation in such projects provides European references alongside revenue and can support the company’s ability to compete for additional international engineering contracts.
The longer-term challenge is to establish a sustained European order book rather than combine occasional foreign projects with large Serbian public-sector contracts. Goša’s transition to private ownership has also reduced the amount of information available to investors and competitors compared with the period when the company was listed on the Belgrade Stock Exchange. The company’s development since 2006 has consequently involved two distinct stages: Serbian owners consolidated a fragmented employee-shareholding structure, restored profitability and established a controlled industrial platform, while DSD entered in 2023 with a 50 per cent stake to expand its international industrial reach.
