Top 100 companies turn a profit

The combined turnover of the top one hundred companies in Romania last year reached 24.66bn euros, up 4.4% from 2002, and the consolidated general profitability rate was positive for the first time in seven years (+1.09%). The data presented by the Romanian Economic Modelling Centre (CRME) revealed that 70 companies made a profit in 2003 and 30 made losses. “The growth was sustained by large companies like ISPAT, Automotive Timisoara and Astra Arad, which moved into the black, but also by the contribution of the 14 newly-entered companies, eleven of which grew at rates of up to 194.2% in 2003 compared with the year before,” explained CRME chairman Cezar Mereuta. The general consolidated profitability rate of the privately held companies was 1.78%, higher than that for state-owned companies, which stood at 0.28%. The highest profits were posted by the two mobile telephone operators Orange Romania and MobiFon, which generated pre-tax profits of 170 million and 167 million euros respectively. At the same time, the share of turnover created by private businesses as a proportion of total turnover rose from 50.47% in 2002 to 53.98% in 2003. ZF