Ranked by both turnover and number of companies, the oil and gas sector leads the sector ranking. nevertheless, the 65 oil- and gas giants in CEE had a difficult year in 2012. Turnover increased by 6%, but the overall net profit shrank from over 5 billion EUR to 3.3 billion EUR (-34.6%). The number of employees in the sector also declined by -4.7%. Oil and gas companies occupy only seventh place when ranked by staff number.

However, two out of three of the biggest businesses in CEE come from O&G. PKN Orlen defends its pole position for the fifth time in a row thanks to a 12.3% increase in turnover (29,485 million EUR in total). There are no differences in second place either: Hungarian mOL, an oil and gas company, holds this position with an increase of 3.4% (18,776 million EUR).

CEE Energy Suppliers Rise By 11%

Over 76 billion EUR (+12%) in turnover generated by 51 companies places energy supply second in the sectoral ranking. Although the average turnover growth rate is quite promising (+11%), in some countries the top players faced a more difficult
economic environment. Energy demand was reduced due the recession. Net profit decreased by 32%, but the return on revenue is still above average (4.9%). The energy supply sector remain one of the biggest employers.
The biggest increases of businesses reported the companies from automotive, food industry and retail. Losses were also reported in several industries, especially construction, electronics, metal industry, mining and telecom.

24.2 Billion EUR Worth Energy Businesses

The highest positioned Romanian companies are OMV Petrom (18), OMV Petrom Marketing (30) and Rompetrol Rafinare (36). Other companies in the ranking are Rompetrol Downstream, Petrotel – Lukoil, Romgaz and Alro.

Poland and Hungary Dominate the Region

For the first time, Romania kicked Ukraine off the podium and catapulted from fifth to third place. This can be explained by a 22.7% increase in the number of companies to a total of 54. Despite the higher number of companies within the Top 500, turnover was weak, leaving Romania in fifth place (48,559 million EUR, +10.8%). It is also ranked fifth in terms of net profit (+37.7%). Furthermore Romania occupies eleventh place with regard to the total number of employees in these companies, which employ 2% of all workers in the country.
First two countries by the companies in the CEE Top 500 are Poland and Hungary. In the turnover ranking, Romania is overheaded by Poland (171 companies and a total turnover of 233,8 billion EUR), Hungary (66 companies and 89,8 billion EUR), the Czech Republic (46 companies and 68,3 billion EUR) and Ukrain (47 companies and 62 billion EUR). In regard with the net profit, the Romanian companies are overheaded by those from Poland (8,4 billion EUR), Hungary (2,5 billion EUR), the Czech Republic (2,48 billion EUR) and Slovakia (2,46 billion EUR).

The Biggest Companies in CEE Grew Their Businesses by 5%

The flagships in CEE increased their turnover by 5% in 2012, to 628 billion EUR. The more difficult economic environment is reflected in the development of net profit; a decrease by almost 32%, to 20 billion EUR. Despite this, the CEE Top 500 companies remain an important driving force in terms of employment. They employ 4% of the total workforce in the region. Employment trends vary between countries and sectors.

“Even for the emerging part of europe, 2012 and 2013 have been difficult years. but the analysis of the Top 500 companies illustrates that even in troubled economic times, potential for growth is there. The CEE flagships increased their turnover by 5% and demonstrated their importance not only within the region, but also for europe and their main trading countries abroad”, Katarzyna Kompowska, Executive manager Coface Central Europe, said in the report.

Coface is a trade risk expert and a worldwide leader in credit insurance.