For a second year in a row, five Bulgarian companies have been included in London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSE Group) “1000 Companies to Inspire Europe” report. Walltopia, El Stamana Ltd.q Fert Bul Ltd., Most Energy JSC and Furniture Videnov have made it to the prestigious list.
“1000 Companies to Inspire Europe” ranks some of the fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. As well as identifying the top 1,000 companies, the annual report examines in detail the opportunities and challenges facing SMEs and looks at the sectors and trends that will shape the future of the European economies. To build the list, the report combines key financial performance indicators. Each company’s compounded annual growth rate of the turnover is calculated over a three-year period (based on three sets of accounts for years 2013, 2014 and 2015). The report demonstrates the critical importance of high-growth private small and medium sized companies (SMEs) to the future European economic growth, innovation and job creation and is part of LSE Group policies to support SMEs.
The Bulgarian five among Europe’s 1000
The five Bulgarian companies in the reports operate in five different sectors. They have a combined 76% increase in jobs over a two-year period and each has an average annual revenue of 25 million euros. Three of the companies are headquartered in Sofia – Walltopia, world-leading manufacturer of artificial climbing structures, MOST ENERGY JSC – a licensed electricity trader on the free market, and El Stomana OOD – a leading steel manufacturer for the mining and metallurgical industries. The other companies are Fert Bul EOOD – a major fertilizer manufacturer from Stara Zagora and Furniture Videnov from Yambol. Walltopia is also presented with a company profile article in the Consumer Services section of the report.
Key findings in “1000 Companies to Inspire Europe” 2017
Here are some the key insights from the report:
- Together 1000 Companies have compound annual growth rate of over 100 per cent over the last three years, higher than the average of 71 per cent last year
- Importance of Europe’s manufacturing credentials underlined: 20 per cent of companies in manufacturing and engineering sectors, the largest sector represented in the report
- Standout sectors for annual revenue growth: Manufacturing & Engineering (171 per cent), Food & Drink (112 per cent) and Technology (65 per cent) – highlighting diversity of high growth SME sector
- Companies continue to generate new jobs, more than 43 per cent over last two years
- Exceptional level of innovation evident: nearly 8,000 patents and registered trademarks across the 1000 companies, twice as many as in 2016’s report
The report is produced with support from Association for Financial Markets in Europe – AFME and Bureau van Dijk – a provider of database of comparable financial information and combined key financial performance indicators of European companies. A full searchable database of all of the companies along with a downloadable pdf of the publication can be found online at www.1000companies.com
