Last year, Chinese companies marked the performance of the domestic economy, primarily thanks to the export of metals. In the previous year, only 29 companies exported goods worth more than 100 million euros, while over two-thirds of exports consisted of goods and services worth up to 100,000 euros. This year, most of the most important economic branches reduced production and exports, and significantly weaker results in agriculture and construction will have the greatest impact on the slowdown of economic growth in 2022, according to the BIZNIS TOP 2021/22. edition published by Business and Finance magazine.
The annual edition of the magazine Business and Finance publishes the ranking list of the 150 largest companies in Serbia in 2021, according to realized profit and business income, as well as the ranking list by district according to realized profit and business income, based on data from the Agency for Economic Registers (APR).
In the edition of BUSINESS TOP 2021/22, the most up-to-date analyzes of the operations of 16 leading sectors in Serbia were published, measured by their participation in the gross domestic product (GDP) of Serbia, as well as based on the impact they have on the overall results of the domestic economy.
The biggest profit in 2021 was recorded by the company Srbija Ziđin mining from Bor, which increased its earnings by as much as 13 times, to 34.4 billion dinars. The profit was achieved primarily due to the large increase in business income from the sale of copper concentrate, mostly through export.
The second is the MK group with a net profit of 26.2 billion dinars, increased almost ten times compared to the previous year, but the profit was generated mainly from financial transactions with related parties and the sale of shares in parent and subsidiary legal entities.
The company Ziđin kuper Srbija ranked third with a profit of 23.8 billion dinars, which increased its profit 2.8 times, mostly thanks to the growth of business revenues from exports. Due to the growth in demand for steel and the jump in its prices, HBIS Group Serbia went from the fifth largest loser in 2020 to the fourth most profitable company last year with a profit of 23.7 billion dinars. In the fifth position is the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), which generated a profit of 23.1 billion dinars mainly from increased activities in oil processing and trading, according to the BIZNIS TOP edition.
Last year, of the hundred most successful companies, more than two-thirds increased their earnings from their core business. The largest increase in profit was recorded by the companies HIP Petrohemija, the aluminum rolling mill Impol Seval and the producer of mineral fertilizers Elixir Zorka, mainly due to the increase in the value of exports. The profitability of 15 companies decreased, and the largest decline was experienced by the corporations Invej, Tetra Pak, RŽD International, Deleze Srbija and Grundfos Srbija, they point out in the monthly Biznis i financije.
Last year, the public company Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) managed to maintain the first position in terms of revenues, which increased by 12.6%, to 319.7 billion dinars. At the same time, the largest Serbian electricity producer had losses from operations, financing and other activities, so unlike in 2020, when it was the most profitable company in Serbia, in 2021 it reported the largest net loss in the amount of 14.9 billion dinars. EPS also recorded the largest total loss of 225.7 billion dinars, which increased by 17.1% last year and accounted for 6.1% of the accumulated loss of the economy, according to the edition of BIZNIS TOP.
The second in terms of revenue is the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), which increased operating revenue by 67%, to 281 billion dinars. HBIS Group Serbia came in third place, with more than doubled revenues in the amount of 130.6 billion dinars. The fourth position is also occupied by a Chinese-owned company, Ziđin kuper Srbija, which increased its revenues by almost 72%, to 121.4 billion dinars. In fifth place is Deleuze Serbia with revenues of 118.9 billion dinars, increased by 6.7% compared to 2020.
Revenues increased in 95 companies, and the company Srbija Ziđin mining stands out for the multiple growth of business revenues. A significant increase in income was recorded by the American corporation Bechtel Enka, while the other companies with the highest increase in income were Chinese companies: Jinshan Construction, China Communication Construction and China Railway International. The largest decrease in business income was reported by the corporations IDC Belgrade, Victoria logistic, Fiat Srbija, Štrabag and RŽD International, Biznis i finansije writes.
The data for this year, provided for Business and Finance by RZS, PKS and APR, show that most of the most important economic branches have reduced production and exports, but the value of exports is increasing due to rising prices on the world market.
This is especially the case in agriculture and the food industry, but unlike these sectors, where a surplus is still recorded, the growing deficit is also a concern for some other key industries.
The deficit is increasing more and more in the metal and electrical industry, except in the production of basic metals. The deficit is also growing rapidly in the energy sector. This year, the import of energy products makes up more than a fifth of the total import, while at the same time there is an outflow of investments.
The increasingly negative foreign trade balance is also characteristic of the pharmaceutical sector, where the import of medicines significantly exceeds the export, with a negligible share of foreign investments in the total inflow of foreign direct investments.
The production of motor vehicles is distinguished by opposite trends, since this year the export of finished vehicles fell by a third, while the export of car parts increased by 77%. Among the activities that have the biggest annual decline is construction, primarily due to a decrease in private investment, so the significantly weaker results of agriculture and construction will have the greatest impact on the slowdown of economic growth this year, forecasts in the BIZNIS TOP edition.
Current developments indicate that the IT sector will exceed the value of last year’s exports. In contrast, the domestic IT market grows three times slower, and this industry records much weaker results when measuring its contribution to digitization and increasing the competitiveness of the entire domestic economy.
The current inflation and the pressure of the recession spill over into the domestic telecommunications market, where the two most dominant participants are entering a period of rising interest rates with a more than overstretched financial structure.
Banks, unlike the real sector, record exceptionally good business results and a double-digit rate of return on capital. However, increasingly strong recessionary pressures could bring high provisions and credit losses in the coming period, according to the BIZNIS TOP 2021/22 edition, Nova Ekonomija reports.
