33 Romanian companies in the Deloitte Central Europe Top 500 aa‚¬a€œ Deloitte study

Romania ranks fifth in Central Europe, with 33 companies among the first 500 in the region. Among the first companies are names like Petrom, Automobile Dacia, Rompetrol, Orange and

for the first time, a Romanian pharmaceutical distribution company ranks among finalists.

The top of the largest companies in Romania is still dominated by the Energy & Resources industry, with 13 companies, followed by Consumer Business and Transportation (10), Manufacturing (4), Telecommunication (5) and, for the first time for the Romanian economy, one company from the pharmaceutical distribution industry.

 “The consequences of an extremely difficult year have significantly impacted the final results in 2009, all over the region,” said George Mucibabici, Chairman Deloitte Romania.

He added: “After three years of sustained growth, the combined revenues of the first 500 companies in Central Europe fell more than 21 percent, from EUR 665.72 billion to EUR 525.6 billion. However, the first quarter of 2010 brought the first signs of recovery, with 70 percent of the companies seeing their revenues grow in this period. This appears to be taking place in most countries and sectors, with some exceptions.”

Read more about

Alexandrion Group is looking for a suitable location in Japan to build a distillery that will produce Japanese single malt whisky

read more

Note: All revenue and net income figures are in EUR million    

Source:  Deloitte Romania 

Deloitte Central Europe Top 500 2010 – highlights

The report ranks the region’s 500 leading companies and examines trends by country and by sector to graphically illustrate the wider commercial and economic environment to which business leaders are adapting and responding. 

• The total Euro revenues of the largest Central European enterprises fell by nearly 21% in 2009 as compared to 2008. This change appears to be a painful consequence of the financial crisis, but a detailed analysis of the available data indicates that depreciation of local currencies has also exerted a significant impact.

• Almost 80 percent of the firms experienced declining revenues. By comparison, in the first quarter of 2010 (compared to a year earlier), approximately 70% of companies recorded a revenue increase.

• Companies based in Poland continue to dominate the ranking as in previous years (representing 36% of the Top 500). However Poland’s numbers have fallen from 188 to 180 over the past year. In its turn, Ukraine saw a decline (from 52 to 39), while the number of companies grew in the Czech Republic (from 69 to 73) and Hungary (from 60 to 63). The biggest propor­tional winner, however, was Serbia, which doubled its representation from six to 12 companies.

• Central Europe’s largest sector by revenue is Energy and Resources (over 200 billion Euro), which also has the highest proportion of state ownership within the region. The largest and fastest-growing sector by number of companies within the Top 500 is Consumer Business and Transportation (147.43 billion Euro). Third-placed Manufacturing is also the region’s fastest declining sector (some 100 billion Euro). It is also a sector showing one of the largest declines in representation (from 114 to 101).

• The number of state-controlled companies in the CE Top 500 fell to 96 (from 110 last year and over 120 two years ago). This means the region is witnessing a trend developing on the one hand from the ongoing privatisation process and on the other from changes to economic structures following the economic slump. However the majority of the energy, natural resources and transportation firms included in the list are still state-owned.

• In the Financial Services sector, the quality of bank loan portfolios worsened across the region, while the asset levels continued to drop, at a lower rhythm than the previous year. Demand for insurance policies declined (including demand for life insurance with investment options).

• All industries experienced a general decrease in revenues, with Life Sciences, Construction, Real Estate and Consumer Business and Transportation being the least affected.

• The Technology, Media and Telecommunications sector has continued to decline across Central Europe and this is reflected in this year’s ranking which saw almost 90% of these companies record a revenue decrease between 2008 and 2009 (the worst performance of all sectors).

• The automotive industry is clearly the backbone of CE’s struggling manufacturing sector. Despite some initial signs of upturn in early 2010 following a year when most major companies’ revenue declined there is now a concern that the end of scrap subsidies in certain key export markets may cause further economic impact later in 2010.

• Indications from the first quarter of 2010 suggest that a gradual economic recovery is already underway, demonstrated by widespread increases in company revenues following a year of steep decline. 

Clearly, several factors are at play in supporting the recovery, including economic stimulus packages from western governments and international organizations, national action to reduce deficits and company programs to streamline and modernize their operations. 

Other important elements behind the CE region’s fragile recovery include some clear competitive advantages that the region’s economies hold over their Western European counterparts. These include a relatively low-cost labor force, new production facilities that are more efficient than older plants in the west, and a banking sector that escaped the worst impacts of the financial and economic crises.

D.C.