12 Bulgarian Companies Make it Into SEE Top 100 of Companies, Banks and Insurers in SE Europe

Jerusalem, 12 October, 2022 (TPS) -- SOFIA, 12.10.2022 (BTA)
Twelve Bulgarian companies have made it into the SEE Top 100 of companies, banks and insurers in Southeast Europe, published Wednesday by the SeeNews website for economic news and intelligence in Southeast Europe. The top position among the 12 is held by Aurubis Bulgaria, which ranks 5th. The company reported revenue of EUR 3.8 million in 2021.

It is in the company of the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (9th position), the National Electricity Company (20th), Astra Bioplant (28th), Lukoil Bulgaria (30th), Kozloduy N-plant (40th), Bulgargaz (54th), Saksa (58th), Kaufland Bulgaria (64th), Lidl Bulgaria (84th), Oliva (90th) and the Sofia Med hospital (91th).

SEE TOP 100 covers Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro. The companies are rated based on their total revenue.

The top three are all in Romania: OMV Petrom SA, Automobile-Dacia SA and OMV Petrom Marketing SRL.

The figures show that the fast recovery of the economies in Southeast Europe in 2021 helped the biggest companies to make up for the delay caused by the pandemic and report two-digit growth in revenues and profits. The total revenues of the 100 biggest companies in the region increased by 28% to reach EUR 153.8 billion and their combined profit spiked by 83% to EUR 6.4 billion, the report shows.

SeeNews Editor-in-Chief Nevena Krasteva says in a letter from the editor that the new edition of SEE TOP 100 “captures that brief moment when skies had cleared up, the next storm was still behind the horizon and crises had not started piling up”. “As pandemic-related restrictions dropped, consumption recovered and industries returned to top capacity. Demand for raw materials and energy jumped, boosting the financial results of companies operating in the oil and gas, electricity and metals sectors. The other sectors also rebounded. The top one hundred companies in Southeast Europe (SEE) booked a strong rise in sales and an outstanding growth of profits, exceeding the pre-crisis levels. Despite the economic upswing, however, challenges to security on various levels – people’s health, energy, food, incomes, geopolitics and infrastructure – remained strong,” writes Krasteva.