The guests of the Krynica Economic Forum were the first to see the European Top 500. Just as a year ago, the list was widely commented upon. It has been prepared based on data collected in 18 countries by Rzeczpospolita daily, in cooperation with Deloitte consultancy.
Companies ranked in the top ten increased their revenues by an average of 12 percent relative to 2006. In the case of the last 100 companies on the list, this result is much better, amounting to almost 20 percent growth. Companies from Serbia and the Baltic countries recorded the largest increases in sales. In Poland, this rate amounted to 17 percent, as compared with 15 percent in Slovakia, 13 percent in Hungary and 10 percent in the Czech Republic.
The number of Polish companies on the list has not changed relative to 2006 and the same thing can be said about the leader position of PKN Orlen. The top ten consists of four companies from Poland, two each from the Czech Republic and Hungary and one each from Ukraine and Slovakia. PKN Orlen is the leader in terms of revenues, but when it comes to net profits, the ranking looks quite different. Czech company CEZ recorded the highest profit of more than 1.5 billion euros, followed by Hungary’s MOL with 1.04 billion. Only one Polish firm managed to reach the barrier of 1 billion euros in net profits – KGHM Polska Miedź. PKN Orlen was ranked fifth in this category, preceded by one more company operating in Poland – ArcelorMittal.
There are several reasons behind the prominent position of Polish companies on the European Top 500 list – on the one hand this is a consequence of regional takeovers, such as those conducted by PKN Orlen or Ciech and on the other – the result of consolidation of energy firms (such as PKE, Tauron and Enea).
Public capital still plays an important role in the region – it is present in 121 companies, among which the state has a controlling stake in 49 Polish firms. There are still relatively few companies – only 71 – listed on the stock exchange and mainly operating in Poland. However, the Czech CEZ is the leader in terms of market capitalization.
