Only seven companies last year had a net profit of over EUR100 million, according to Trade Registry data. OMV Petrom (SNP.RO), the largest company in Romania, had a record-high profit of almost EUR870 million in the fourth year of crisis. The ten most profitable local companies and institutions include Romgaz, Orange, Fondul Proprietatea (FP.RO), BRD (BRD.RO) and Raiffeisen Bank.
“The most profitable companies operate in just a few sectors, which shows that there are sectors, such as energy, where results are good because prices are high and the current economic circumstances work in their favor,” says economic analyst Laurian Lungu, executive director of macroeconomic analysis company Macroanalitica. The 300 most profitable companies had profits of between EUR3.7 million and EUR870 million in 2011. Petrom remained the largest and most profitable company in Romania, with a record-high net profit of almost EUR870 million last year. The company has been run since 2006 by Mariana Gheorghe and continues the restructuring it started after privatization, as well as continuing to boost its profit. The second most profitable company, Termoelectrica, with a net profit of EUR376 million, is a state-run company that had recorded significant losses for years. Its 2011 profit is “only on paper,” after the company exchanged shares for debt. “The results of state-run companies in one year cannot reflect their future evolution because they make little or no investments, so their profit could be affected in the future or they could even make losses in the future,” analyst Laurian Lungu also says. Orange and Vodafone, leaders of the telecom market, are the only companies in the sector to feature among the top-10 most profitable companies ion 2011, but results were down on 2010. A surprise in the ranking is cold cuts producer Principal Company in Buzau, which reported a net profit of EUR66 million last year with 251 employees. Principal Company, controlled by the Dobronauteanu brothers, has been insolvent for over two years. There is no official explanation for this record-high profit. Sources in the industry say the company is now looking for a buyer for its production facilities in Bihor and Prahova counties. Another Romanian-held company that recorded a significant profit last year is DIY retailer Dedeman, held by the Paval brothers in Bacau. The company managed to boost its turnover and retain its profit margin, posting a net profit of EUR48.5 million. Romania is still a profitable market for manufacturers of car components, such as Continental Automotive Products, Autoliv, Contitech and Pirelli, which manage to rank among the 60 most profitable companies. “The ranking of the most profitable companies doesn’t include many companies that can bring added value in the economy, there are importers and companies that manufacture intermediate goods, not finished products that could bring growth through exports,” economic analyst Laurian Lungu of Macroanalitica also says. The ranking of the most profitable local companies also includes financial investment companies SIF Muntenia (SIF4.RO), SIF Banat (SIF1.RO), SIF Oltenia (SIF5.RO) and SIF Moldova (SIF2.RO), whose profits come from dividends and from selling assets on the stock exchange. The middle of the ranking features companies in various sectors, from producers of car components and cosmetics firms through to IT companies, market research companies and clothing retailers. Avon, the largest company of direct sales of cosmetics, had a net profit of EUR13.3 million, down against the previous year, amid the consumption decline. US-based IBM, one of the world’s largest IT companies, obtained a net profit of EUR13 million last year, the largest profit in the IT industry. The company ended last year with a turnover of EUR73 million. Fashion retailer Zara in turn managed to record a significant profit last year, EUR10 million, with a turnover of EUR62 million, but the profit was down by EUR1 million against the previous year. Fashion retailers, unlike food retailers, make a profit from their very first year of presence on the market. Agriculture, which last year was one of the drivers of economic growth, is also one of the most profitable sectors. One example is TCE 3 Brazi, a company through which businessman Culita Tarata exploits 56,000 hectares of arable land on Insula Mare a Braileiisle, which brought him a net profit of EUR11.7 million. All major agricultural players had record-high results in 2011. Players on the drug market also recorded major profits last year, although 2011 was a difficult year for the market. Zentiva, part of French group Sanofi Aventis, had a net profit of 31.6 million lei (EUR7.5 million) last year, down 45% against its record-high profit in 2010. Consultancy and IT services centers, as well as outsourcing centers, make profits that place them in the middle of the ranking of the 300 most profitable companies on the Romanian market. The center of US company Hewlett-Packard – Global eBusiness Operation Center (GeBOC) – which started operating in Romania in 2005, made a profit of over EUR6 million last year with its 3,000 Romanian employees. On the other hand, HP has recently announced it will lay off 2,500 employees globally, but the company’s local officials did not specify if the program would also affect GeBOC employees. Exports account for a large share of the profit of cigarette producers, a market of over EUR3 billion in Romania shared between three major producers: British American Tobacco (BAT), Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Philip Morris. While BAT (producer of Kent cigarettes) made a record-high profit of EUR74.8 million with a turnover of almost EUR1.5 billion last year (ranking 11th among the most profitable companies in Romania), Philip Morris (producer of Marlboro cigarettes) had a profit of just EUR4.4 million (with a turnover of EUR590 million). (English version by Daniela Stoican) Ranking of the top 10 most profitable companies in Romania| No. | Company | City | County | Net Profit (lei ) | Net Profit (euros) |
| 1 | OMV PETROM SA | Bucharest | Bucharest | 3,685,607,226 | 869,657,203 |
| 2 | TERMOELECTRICA | Bucharest | Bucharest | 1,597,218,309 | 376,880,205 |
| 3 | ROMGAZ SA | Medias | Sibiu | 1,031,748,972 | 243,451,858 |
| 4 | ORANGE ROMANIA SA | Bucharest | Bucharest | 805,637,899 | 190,098,608 |
| 5 | FONDUL PROPRIETATEA SA | Bucharest | Bucharest | 543,825,216 | 128,321,193 |
| 6 | BRD – GROUPE SOCIETE GENERALE SA | Bucharest | Bucharest | 465,265,368 | 109,784,183 |
| 7 | VODAFONE ROMANIA SA | Bucharest | Bucharest | 425,484,737 | 100,397,531 |
| 8 | TRANSGAZ SA | Medias | Sibiu | 379,571,465 | 89,563,819 |
| 9 | AZOMURES SA | Targu Mures | Mures | 365,196,441 | 86,171,883 |
| 10 | RAIFFEISEN BANK SA | Bucharest | Bucharest | 320,068,972 | 75,523,589 |