Capital 100 Bulgaria’s Biggest Companies
Capital 100 – Bulgaria’s Biggest Companies, the annual ranking of local business weekly Capital, showed that ten years after Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union and after the crisis, the country’s economy seems stable and for thousands of companies the year has been their best so far. According to data of the NRA, the revenues for 2016 of all more than 320 000 companies in the country have reached BGN 333 billion, which is a 1.5% growth in turnover. Two groups have already been established as stable leaders – manufacturing enterprises and high technology. Companies that have searched for and found foreign markets are growing. This year, the economy has been driven not by giants but by medium-sized manufacturing companies.
The sector breakdown indicates that food, technology and machinery have grown the most. Trade and production of clothing and textiles have also gone up. New in the ranking is the steady introduction of software companies in the list of big players. For the first time Paysafe and Telerik appear in the ranking among the first 300. VMWare is the third new company, and for the first time there is an outsourcing company in the ranking, namely Callpoint New Europe.
There is a drop among the big players – the companies in the fuel and metal sector, as well as in the energy sector. Thus, the business of the top ten in the country marks a total decline of 10%, because 7 of the top 10 companies operate in these three sectors. The reason is the decrease of fuel prices on the international markets. Another sector that is declining is the construction sector. The lack of public procurement for major projects and facilities led to a contraction –by 35%. However, this pertains only to large companies, as the small ones are growing due to the intense construction of residential and office buildings in Sofia.
Positive and important news is that profits are rising. In the top 100, the growth is over 21% to BGN 2.6 billion. Two years ago the total profit was BGN 700 million and for the last year it was BGN 2.1 billion. The vast majority of the companies in top 100 made a profit in the past year – 84%, and among the top 300 companies the reported losses were even less.
A record in the ranking is also registered in terms of workforce. For the first time, the total number of employees in the excerpt of the top 100 companies with the biggest number of employees among all 300 companies has exceeded 200,000. Workplaces are increasing, but employers firmly point out the fact that there is a severe lack of personnel. That is why companies attract people from or open manufacturing structures in other cities. The software business and tourism are hiring staff from abroad. The lack of personnel is a painful fact for all sectors without exception.
In conclusion, the ranking data is positive, just like the outlook for the end of 2017, because the economy continues to grow as well as exports, consumption and incomes. A stumbling block in the upward direction would be the ineffective measures to support the business and the long-term failure to solve the problem with the personnel in two major directions – synchronization of education with the needs of the business and returning Bulgarians studying and working abroad to the Bulgarian economy.
Quick Facts
– The most profitable 50 companies from the complete excerpt of the top 300 earn just above BGN 0.21 on each sale
– The most profitable companies are from the sectors of weapons and military-repair, as well as gambling and high added value sectors – chemistry/pharmaceuticals and auto-components
– The highest growth is not reported by the leaders in the ranking, but by medium-sized companies on the positions from 101 to 300 – companies with turnover from BGN 70 to BGN 200 million.
