Mobifon and Orange, the most profitable businesses in Romania

The two telecoms companies Mobifon and Orange were Romania’s most profitable businesses last year, according to a ranking released yesterday by the National Board of the Private Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Romania (MCNIPMMR), which used data from the Ministry of Public Finances.

Mobile telephony operator Mobifon ended the year 2002 with more than 4,084 billion ROL in gross profit and turnover worth 14,400 billion ROL, which points to a profit margin of 28.4%.

Mobifon is followed by its archrival Orange, which logged gross profit worth 3,185 billion ROL. Last year, Orange Romania registered turnover of 12,061 billion ROL, which puts Orange’s gross profit rate at 26.4%.

Whereas the top two positions are filled by companies from the same city (Bucharest) and the same field (telecoms), the third place goes to Timisoara-based electricity group Luxten Lighting. Luxten owns a light bulb factory in Bucharest and is behind the public lighting system in Bucharest, Galati, part of Constanta, Timisoara and Craiova.

With 1,600 billion ROL in gross profit and turnover worth 2,961 billion ROL last year, the company had a bigger profit margin than the top two firms: 35.8 percent.

Besides Luxten, the top seven positions are filled by Bucharest-based companies. The auto sector ranks fourth (car dealer Porsche Romania) and sixth (auto parts maker Honeywell Garrett).

Water supply company Apa Nova Bucharest makes a surprising appearance on the seventh position, with 599 billion ROL in gross profit last year.

Trade remains a very profitable business. Out of the 15 micro-enterprises that were ranked in terms of profitability, six are dealing in trade. Vox Com SRL is the most profitable. Employing only one person, the company posted 212bn ROL turnover last year and gross profit of 110 billion ROL, that is a record-high gross margin – 52%. Information about the company is listed on the Finance Ministry’s website, but there is no telephone number and RomTelecom’s information service was not able to provide one, so that the company could not be contacted.

IT is also a big business. Asesoft International, a small, Ploiesti-based company, posted gross profit worth 296 billion ROL ($8.7m). The company does business in energy, but is also a supplier of state-owned companies. Petrom, Rompetrol, LukOil, RomTelecom, the Ministry of Health, Justice and Labour are among Asesoft’s clients.

However, the companies distributing meal coupons are really the big earners. Ticket Service and Sodexho fill the top two positions among the SMEs in terms of gross profit: Ticket Service logged 725 billion ROL, with 612 billion for Sodexho.

georgiana.stavarache@zf.ro ; sorin.pislaru@zf.ro