Croatian companies Agrokor and INA group are the leading among Top 100 companies in the Adria region, announced today by Deloitte. Among top 5 companies on the list, based on the revenue from sales, are Serbian NIS and Slovenian Petrol and Mercator. The list is dominated by consumer business and energy and resources companies.
Slovenia has the most representatives on the list, 38 companies, followed by Croatian (30) and Serbian (23) companies. The largest number of companies (34) belongs to consumer business industry, followed by energy and resources industry, which is represented with 29 companies. Strong expansion policy through the organic growth and selective acquisitions insured the leading position for Agrokor. This group also had the largest annual income growth, up to 36 percent, and slightly behind, with 35 percent growth, is Serbian Delta M group.
“The repercussions of the global financial crisis started to be felt in the economies of the Adria region during the last quarter of 2008. It now appears likely that the region’s average GBP contraction in 2009 will be between 3 and 6 percent, by far the worst annual performance since the early 1990s. As a consequence of this sharp and sudden contraction in economic activity, and the even faster spread of illiquidity, cash flow management has become increasingly important for all Adria Companies and even governments,” stressed out Ivica Kresic, director in FAS, Deloitte.
Total revenue from sales ensured by companies from the energy and resources sector has enlarged by 22 percent on the annual level. This is much higher than the average growth dynamic among Adria Top 100 companies, which is 16 percent. The banking sector recorded assets growth, which is never the less mainly slower than in previous years. Despite the different levels of development of economies in the region, all countries have followed certain global trends such as decrease of approved credits.
Leading position on Top 25 banks list is taken by Slovenian NLB, followed by four Croatian-based banks: Zagrebacka, Privredna, Erste bank Zagreb and Raiffeisenbank Zagreb. On the Top 25 insurance companies list, four of five top positions are taken by Slovenian insurers, lead by Triglav osiguranje. Croatian insurance company Croatia osiguranje has won excellent second place in the regional list.
“While the pain felt in the region has certainly been significant and real, not everything is gloomy. There has been no real panic in any country. Banking sectors remain well capitalised. There hasn’t been a significant bank failure or run on a bank in the region. Increasing optimism built up during the summer months of 2009 that the region’s economies would pick up soon. In the longer term, once the immediate crisis passes, the Adria region will remain attractive place to invest in,” concluded Kresic.