“Companies must now bet on retooling and make investments in efficiency improvement. This is a good year to optimize profitability. We can feel the economy is growing,” said Cosmin Calin, executive director Large Corporate with Banca Transilvania.
He attended the „Liderii economiei locale Top 1,000 cele mai mari companii din Romania. Puterea exemplului” (Leaders of the local economy – Top 1,000 largest companies in Romania – Power of example) conference organized by Ziarul Financiar and Banca Transilvania, in partnership with Ursus Breweries, Filip & Company and Antibiotice Iasi.
The revenue of the companies in Romania overshot the EUR300 billion mark for the first time in 2017, and the growth trend has continued, largely driven by consumer spending. From the ambition to have double-digit growth in sales every year, companies are now moving into a phase where they are more carefully looking at cost structures and profit margins.
“The revenue of the companies in Romania will definitely continue to grow in 2019, but there is some doubt about the increase in profitability, considering the overall rise in costs, wages and raw material prices,” says Alexandru Reff, county managing partner of Deloitte Romania. The audit and advisory firm was ZF’s partner in compiling the Top 1,000 companies ranking in Romania for the second year in a row.
Although unpredictability and the lack of constructive dialog with the authorities hinder the development of the Romanian business, the leaders of the local economy say that partnerships between entrepreneurs and multinationals, an increase in the number of medium-sized companies, supporting startups, improving productivity, and ensuring a working environment in line with the current requirements can help even in an uncertain political context.
“Our main advantage is that we are a European Union member country, with a legislation greatly influenced by the standards in Brussels. We are a country with quality human resources, a very high human potential and very many areas uncovered by development. These things still make us attractive,” said Cristina Filip, managing partner of law firm Filip & Company.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)