Energy dominates Bucharest business arena in terms of turnover

According to a RisCo top covering Bucharest business players according to turnover, the first three places are taken by oil giants Petrom and Rompetrol, while the rankings are dotted about by other important players in the energy field like Lukoil, Engie (former GDF Suez), Electrica Furnizare and Hidroelectrica.

The top concentrates multinational companies in the energy sector, FMCG, tobacco and telecommunications. Only in the bottom of the rankings there are electronics, pharma or grain trading companies. On average, the profitability of companies was superior in 2014 over the previous year, mainly due to positive results in the energy sector which was also reflected in the economic growth in recent years. Meanwhile, there was continued restructuring of private companies, especially by reducing the number of employees, except hypermarket networks which have expanded their presence in Romania during 2014.

The first place is taken by Omv Petrom. The oil group has three companies in the rankings, two of which are at the top. The producer of crude oil in 2014 had a turnover of RON 16.5 billion, RON 1.5 billion less than in 2013. Drops were also registered in the profit, which reached RON 1.8 billion in 2014 (a 62 percent decrease against 2013) and in the number of employees, which dropped from 19,016 in 2013 to 17,866 in 2014.

OMV Petrom Marketing ranks second with a turnover of RON 14.1 billion (RON 313.6 million less than in 2013) and a profit increase from RON 294.7 million to RON 304.8 million in 2014. The number of employees remained constant, at around 228 employees.

Rompetrol Downstream comes in third. With a network of filling stations that extends continuously in the country and the region, the company had an increased turnover of RON 9.4 billion from the RON 8.6 billion registered in 2013. It also went from a loss of RON 3.6 million to a profit of RON 42.5 million. The number of employees in 2014 was 1,774, which was 267 persons less than in 2013.

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Kaufland kept it position from 2013, and posted a turnover of RON 7.9 billion, RON 737.4 million higher than 2013. The food retailer saw a RON 488.6 million profit, 17.7 percent more than in 2013 and the number of employees stood at 12,589, 409 people more than in 2013.

British American Tobacco Trading ranks fifth in the top. In 2014 the cigarette trader had a turnover of RON 6.9 million and a profit of RON 356.3 million (40.4 million less than in 2013). The number of employees of the company grew from 304 people in 2013 to 654 in 2014.

Lukoil, ranking sixth had a turnover 15 percent above the previous year, reaching RON 5.8 billion. The company managed to cut its losses by RON 50.5 million, reaching RON 165,600. The number of employees showed no big changes, remaining constant around 3,013 people.

Carrefour climbed three ranks from 2013 to the seventh place. With 7,284 employees, an increase of 581 people compared to 2013 and a profit RON 119.2 million, RON 25 million less than in 2013, the food and non-food distributor had in 2014 a turnover of RON 4.5 billion, RON 272.5 million more than in 2013.

Engie, former GDF Suez Energy, posted an increased turnover of RON 4.5 billion in 2014 (over RON 4.3 billion in 2013) while the profits dropped to RON 470.9 million (from RON 390.6 million in 2013).

Metro Cash&Carry, a new entry in the ranking, had a less positive year with drops registered in both turnover and profit. The company posted RON 4.4 billion in turnover (from RON 4.7 billion in 2013) and went from a profit of RON 64.9 million to a loss of RON 1.2 million in 2014. The number of employees in 2014 was 5,125.

Orange ranked tenth, with a total of 2,653 employees and a turnover of RON 4.3 billion, registering a decreased profit of RON 403.6 million (a RON 96.8 million drop compared to 2013).

Electrica Furnizare, part of Electrica, dropped from the seventh place in 2013 to 11. The trader of electricity’s turnover in 2014 was RON 4.01 billion, while profit reached RON 204.7 million. The number of employees was 1,219 persons.

Auchan had in 2014 a turnover of RON 3.7 billion and a RON 61.7 million loss. The number of employees in 2014 was 9,344.

OMV Petrom Gas, ranked 13, had in 2014 a turnover of RON 3.6 billion, a profit of RON 117.3 million, and had a total of 45 employees.

Hidroelectrica, the electricity producer, a newcomer in the top, posted a turnover of RON 3.4 billion and a profit of RON 941.5 million, seeming to successfully overcome problems of insolvency. There is still left to see the effects the 2015 drought will have on the company’s activity.

Vodafone, ranking 15, dropped four positions from the previous year with a turnover of RON 3.1 billion and a profit of RON 158.6 million, while the number of employees was of 2,729 people. J. T. International in 2014 had a turnover of RON 2.9 billion and a profit of RON 59.2 million. The headcount of the tobacco merchant in 2014 stood at 621 persons.

Mega Image, part of Delhaize Group in Belgium, had a turnover of RON 2.8 billion, a RON 55.7 million profit and had a total of 7,161 employees in 2014.

Samsung Electronics ranks 18 with a turnover of RON 2.7 billion and had a RON 59.2 million profit. The number of employees registered was of 138 people.

The last two places were taken by Farmexpert, a new entry, and Cargill Agricultura. The turnover of Farmexpert was RON 2.6 billion and Cargill Agricultura registered RON 2.3 billion.

For 2015, RisCo analysts expect the turnover of most large companies from the top to grow, while the level of profitability is likely to diminish. Few new companies are expected to enter the ranking, as the top players have financial stability and turnover and are less likely to be influenced by other factors than the macro environment.

Natalia Martian