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08/28/2013
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Coface Adriatic/Balkan Top 50: Ranking of largest companies in Adriatic region mirrors difficult year 2012

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   For the second time, Coface publishes the “Coface Adriatic/Balkan Top 50”, a ranking based on the turnover of the largest companies in the six countries of the region (Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Montenegro). In 2012, the total turnover of the biggest companies in the region increased by +5.6% to approximately 41 billion EUR, but the net profit declined by -1.2%. Almost 151,000 people were employed by the Top 50 companies (-3% compared to 2011). This development shows, that – albeit on a very different level when it comes to country risks – the whole region looks back on a very difficult economic year..

 

 

 

 

 

  

Most big companies in the region based in Croatia

 

   With a turnover of approximately 3.59 billion EUR, the Croatian oil and gas company Ina d.d. ranks first in 2012 – the company was able to defend the first rank despite a slight decrease in turnover compared to 2011 (-2%). The Slovenian company Petrol (3.26 billion, +14%) comes in second place and Naftna Industrija Srbije (Serbia, 1.99 billion, +21%) in third place. This means, the Top 3 remain firmly in the hand of the three oil and gas “giants”, there is no change compared to 2011.

 

  The fourth place is held by the Slovenian energy supplier Holding Slovenske Elektrarne d.o.o. (turnover of 1.96 billion, +43%), which moved three places up compared to 2011. It is followed by the Croatian retail company Konzum d.d. on rank 5 (1.78 billion, +1%).

 

  16 of the Top 50 companies in the region are based in Croatia, but the country is ranked second in terms of turnover. The 15 Slovenian companies among the Top 50 of the region earned the highest turnover. 13 companies within the Top 50 are based in Serbia, 4 are Macedonian and two companies from Bosnia and Hercegovina are among the Top 50. Although Montenegro was also considered in this ranking, the country did not succeed in getting into the final Top 50 listing.

 

  While companies of Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia are represented among the Top 5 of the ranking, the biggest Mazedonian company can be found on rank 20, while the biggest player from Bosnia and Hercegovina is ranked 32nd.

 

Turnover, profit and employment

 

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  NThe highest turnover was reported by Slovenian Top 50 companies (15.5 billion EUR, +9,5%), followed by Croatia (14.1 billion EUR, +1,5%) and Serbia (8.6 billion EUR, +6,8%). The development of the net profit draws a darker picture for the Top 50 companies in the region: Overall it declined by 1.2% to 1.9 billion EUR – 18 out of the named 50 companies had to report a net loss in 2012.

 

  When it comes to employees, the top companies of the region also felt the difficult economic environment: On the one hand, almost 151,000 people were employed by one of the Top 50 companies – this is almost 3% of the total work force in the region. Most people were employed by Croatian players (44%). On the other hand, staff was reduced in comparison to 2011 by 3% throughout the Top 50. 30 out of 50 companies released staff in 2012. The highest release-rate was seen in Serbia (-5%). In the whole region, unemployment reached worrying levels.

 

Oil and gas sector top

 

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  In 2012, the oil and gas sector reported the highest turnover in the region, followed by energy supply and retail. Whereas 2012 was rather successful for energy suppliers (+17%), the metal and automotive industry had to face a rather sharp decline in turnover (approximately -8% for both sectors). This is also mirrored in the ranking: The top 10 companies are dominated by energy suppliers and oil and gas companies, supplemented by only two retailers and one pharmaceutical company.

 

  The Adriatic/Baltic region is composed of very different countries reaching from Slovenia in the North with a very good country risk (A2) to Bosnia-Hercegovina in the South (D). Nonetheless the whole region looks back at a very difficult year, most countries got stuck in a recession, GDP development ranging from -0.2% in Bosnia-Hercegovina to -2.2% in Slovenia. Only Montenegro was able to report a slight growth of 0.6%. Moreover, the region has to deal with high unemployment and insolvency rates – and the outlook for 2013 is not too promising.

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