The top 100 companies by revenue generated nearly 30 percent of the total income of Serbia’s economy last year, according to a report by the Business Registers Agency titled “The Top 100… Companies in 2023.”
The business revenues of this group of companies last year amounted to 5,308 billion dinars, or around 45 billion euros, which is 3.6 percent higher than in 2022.
Out of these 100 companies, 90 were profitable last year. The total profit of the top 100 companies by revenue amounted to 431 billion dinars, or 3.7 billion euros, marking a 27.6 percent increase compared to 2022. The remaining 10 companies incurred losses of 47 billion dinars, or around 400 million euros.
This group of companies accounted for 26.6 percent of the overall performance of the economy.
The company with the highest revenues and profits last year was Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS). It was also the company with the largest accumulated losses. EPS generated business revenues of 4.25 billion euros last year and a net profit of as much as 960 million euros. However, the company’s accumulated loss amounted to 2.6 billion euros by the end of the year.
EPS also achieved the biggest turnaround, moving from a loss of 620 million euros in 2022 to a profit of nearly one billion euros in 2023. Energy companies dominated the list of the largest companies in Serbia. Following EPS in terms of revenue, last year was NIS with 3.3 billion euros in revenue, and behind it, Srbijagas with around 1.5 billion euros in revenue.
In fourth place was the Belgian retail chain Delhaize with 1.3 billion euros in revenue, followed by Zijin Mining with 1.1 billion euros.
In terms of net profit, behind EPS was Zijin Mining, the Chinese mining company that operates the Čukaru Peki copper mine, with a profit of 700 million euros. In third place was NIS with 357 million euros in profit, which was 55 percent lower than in 2022. Fourth was Telekom Srbija with 290 million euros.
In fifth place by profit was another Zijin company, Zijin Copper, which manages the former RTB Bor, with a profit exceeding 160 million euros.
The top 100 most profitable companies last year accounted for 44.4 percent of the total profit of the Serbian economy.
The biggest profit jump in 2023 compared to 2022 was made by the Chinese company Minth, i.e. its factory in Loznica. From 74 million in 2022, its profit surged 20-fold to 1.5 billion dinars last year. On the other hand, the largest profit decline in 2023 compared to 2022 was seen by the fertilizer factory Elixir Zorka from Šabac, whose profit last year was only a quarter of what it was in 2022.
This list also includes Elixir’s factory in Prahovo, as well as Elektromreže Srbije and the construction company Bechtel Enka UK.
When looking at the profitability of companies by sector, the top 100 list is dominated by the manufacturing industry, with 37 companies.
Among them, the highest profit, 64 million euros, was achieved by the pet food manufacturer Farmina Pet from Inđija, which ranked 11th in terms of profit. Right behind it were the tobacco industry Philip Morris and Coca-Cola in 12th and 13th places, respectively, and the tire factory Tigar Tyres from Pirot in 15th place.
An interesting insight into the list of the most profitable construction companies last year shows that the most profitable ones are foreign-owned.
The top spot is held by Belgrade Waterfront, majority-owned by a UAE company and minority-owned by Serbia, with a profit of 44 million euros. The second was China Railway International, the Belgrade branch, with almost 40 million euros. Following it was another Chinese company, Jinshan Construction, which performs construction work for the Bor copper mine, with a profit of 29 million euros.
In fourth place was Bechtel Enka, the firm building the Morava Corridor, with a profit of 28 million euros, and the top five were rounded off by another Chinese firm, China First Highway Engineering, with a similar profit.
In the energy sector, after EPS in terms of profit, last year came the Romanian company SCM Power, which trades electricity and earned 104 million euros. Third was Srbijagas with 103 million, and fourth was EMS with 25 million euros.
In the retail sector, the largest company last year by revenue was Delhaize, which ranked fourth in the overall economy. Delhaize made a profit of 66 million euros from 1.3 billion euros in revenue. Second in revenue was Lidl with 882 million euros in revenue and 15 million euros in profit. Third in sales was Mercator S with 870 million euros and a profit of 14 million euros.
In fourth place among retailers was the oil company MOL with 580 million euros in revenue and 12.7 million euros in profit. The fifth-largest retailer was another oil company, Lukoil, with nearly 400 million euros in revenue and 8 million euros in profit.
(Danas, 24.10.2024)
https://www.danas.rs/vesti/ekonomija/najvece-najprofitabilnije-kompanije-privreda/
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