The rating of the 500 largest companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) compiled by the international credit risk insurer Coface, published in November, includes 38 companies from the Baltics – six from Latvia, six from Estonia and 26 from Lithuania, Coface representatives told LETA.
At the same time, the companies’ rating figures admit that, in general, the data on the profitability of the Top 500 companies show that the pandemic had a great impact and, compared to 2019, in 2020 their total profit decreased by 3.3%, reaching 667 billion euros. As in previous years, the leading industries are minerals, chemicals, petroleum, plastics, pharmaceuticals, automotive, transportation and non-specialized trade.
Commenting on the overall Baltic position in the company rating, Coface representatives admit that, compared to 2019, two Latvian companies have left the top, Estonia has maintained the number of existing companies in the top, but seven new companies have joined the Lithuanian top.
Looking at the ratings, all Latvian companies have risen to higher positions in the top, except for the electricity generation and trading company AS Latvenergo, which has experienced a slight decline from 263rd to 267th place. Among the Latvian companies, the highest ranking is the wholesaler of IT products AS “Elko Grupa” (77th place), the manufacturer of chemical products SIA “Uralkali Trading” (89th place) and retail companies SIA “Rimi Latvia” (214th place), followed by SIA “Maxima Latvia” (225th place) and metal processing company SIA “Severstal Distribution” (294th place).
The highest positions among the Top 500 Estonian companies are held by the investment and holding company Investeeringud OÜ (223rd place), and from Lithuania – Maxima Grupe UAB (19th place). The Lithuanian company “Vilniaus Prekyba UAB”, which ranks 11th in the top and ranks highest among all companies in the Baltic States, has also experienced a significant increase.
Meanwhile, Poland ranks first in terms of the total number of companies – 32.2% of all companies in the top come from Poland and by country ratings.
According to Coface, in 2020 the leading industries will account for almost 54% of total revenue. The largest industries represented in the CEE Top 500 are the production of chemicals and minerals, the production of petroleum and plastic products, and pharmaceuticals. Despite the decline in profits, the revenue of the 89 companies represented in these sectors in 2020 was 133.9 billion euros. At the same time, the largest decline in the number of companies has been experienced in this sector – 8 companies have left the top.
The second leading industry in the Top 500 is the automotive industry and transport – 84 companies or 16.8% represent the top, which is five companies less than before. Overall, revenue in this sector has decreased by 9.7%, while net profit has decreased by 61.3%.
The retail sector, as the third leading industry in the Top 500, is represented by 70 companies, which is three less than a year earlier. Poland still has the largest consumer market in the CEE region and is also home to the industry’s leading companies, Jeronimo Martins Polska and Eurocash.
As the company explained, each year Coface forms the Top 500 largest company in the CEE region, evaluating their performance in the previous calendar year. The Top 500 provides an insight into the region’s economic activity trends and forecasts future developments. The performance of the Top 500 largest companies is also compared, which shows a significant impact of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, but at the same time shows that companies are adapting to the new conditions.
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