The five companies with the highest operating revenues generated 22.9% of the revenues of the 100 observed companies.
The ranking of the first five companies according to the volume of their business activity has slightly changed compared to the previous year, since the leading four companies retained their positions in 2020 too, while the companies from last year’s fifth and sixth places changed places.
The five companies with the highest operating revenues generated a total of 746,726 million dinars of those revenues, which is 22.9% of the revenues of the one hundred observed companies.
The first place on the list belongs to PE EPS BELGRADE, which has been the main driving force behind business activities for years. In 2020, EPS reported 282,731 million dinars of income from core business. This is a 1.1% increase and accounts for 2.4% of operating income generated by the entire Serbian business sector.
Most of this revenue came from the sale of products and services on the domestic market for 234,423 million dinars, which is 1.7% higher than in the previous year. Slightly less than half of that amount refers to revenues from the sale of electricity to customers on the open market, which are 1.3% lower than last year, and a significant share of revenues, in the amount of 96,313 million dinars, comes from the sale of electricity to households, which is a 6.2% increase.
Business revenue of 23,465 million dinars was generated from the sale of electricity to connected companies that operate under the EPS Group, and 11,951 million dinars from the sale of electricity to businesses. Considering that operating expenses decreased (0.6%) in the same period, the company made a profit of 22,453 million dinars from its business activities, which is a 25.9% hike compared to the previous year. Adding to this are better results in financing and other activities, which makes PE EPS BELGRADE the most profitable company in 2020, with a net profit of 12,883 million dinars, 3.5 times higher than last year.
At the same time, EPS ranks first in terms of the value of business assets and capital (913,683 million dinars and 609,792 million dinars respectively), but also the total loss (192,665 million dinars). Also, this large energy system employed the highest number of workers, and with 24,478 employees, it has a 2.0% share in the total number of employees in the domestic business sector.
The first place on the list belongs to PE EPS BELGRADE, which has been the main driving force behind business activities for years
For the fifth consecutive year, the second place on the list of the 100 BEST companies in terms of operating income is occupied by the large oil company NIS AD NOVI SAD. In 2020, the company generated business revenues of 169,803 million dinars, however, due to the sharp fall in crude oil prices and reduced demand due to the global stagnation in the economy and transport, revenues generated from the company’s primary activities decreased by 30.8% compared to the previous year.
The decline in operating revenues was mainly influenced by the decline in revenues from the sale of goods, products and services on the domestic market, which fell from 177,476 million dinars to 119,121 million dinars. At the same time, expenses from business activities were reduced (20.5%), primarily due to lower material costs, and consequently, the business loss amounted to 7,076 million dinars, unlike the previous year when the company made a profit of 22,701 million dinars.
In the financing segment, the company’s loss is almost doubled compared to last year (880 million dinars), while other activities, after the loss of the previous year, recorded a profit (332 million dinars). These trends influenced the fact that NIS AD NOVI SAD operated with a net loss of 5,908 million dinars, and thus occupies 6th place on the list of ONE HUNDRED BEST COMPANIES with the largest net loss. A few years back, the company was at the top of the list of most profitable companies. Furthermore, it is highly ranked (third place) in terms of the value of business assets and capital (391,710 million dinars and 250,109 million dinars respectively) and is a significant employer with 5,035 employees, which is 915 more than the previous year.
The third place on the list is occupied by the DELHAIZE SERBIA DOO BELGRADE retail chain, which volume of business activity increased by 6.3% and which generated business revenues of 111,485 million dinars, mainly from selling goods on the domestic market.
As operating expenses grew faster (8.1%), operating profit decreased by 15.9% and amounted to RSD 6,545 million. In addition, the profit from financing (429 million dinars) is lower than last year, while the loss from other activities, which, as in previous years, was largely due to losses due to expenditure on inventories and shortages of goods, decreased (7.1%) and amounts to 2,329 million dinars.
This supermarket chain ended 2020 with a net profit of 3,931 million dinars (12th place), which was reduced by almost a quarter compared to the previous year. DELHAIZE SERBIA DOO BELGRADE had significant financial capacities, although they significantly declined after the status change that saw one legal entity (NBO 2020 DOO BELGRADE) becoming a separate company. In terms of the company’s business assets (worth 72,196 million dinars), it occupies 17th place, and 14th place according to capital (42,305 million dinars). As in previous years, this retail chain stands out in terms of the number of employees and in 2020, it employed 12,889 workers, which is 310 workers more than in the previous year.
The large producer of vehicle tires TIGAR TIRES DOO PIROT is in the 4th place, with revenues from primary activities in the amount of 94,545 million dinars, an 8.6% annual decline. This decline was due to reduced revenues from the sale of goods, products and services to parent and dependent legal entities on foreign markets (12.1%), which amounted to 44,824 million dinars, as well as lower revenues from the sale of finished products and services on the foreign market (10.8%), amounting to 17,573 million dinars. At the same time, operating expenses decreased at a higher annual rate, (10.1%) and the company increased its operating profit by 6.3%, to 10,173 million dinars.
At the same time, TIGAR generated a net profit of 9,213 million dinars (a 2.1% increase) which puts the company in 7th place on the list of ONE HUNDRED BEST COMPANIES by net profit (fourth in the previous year). In addition, TIGAR has significant business assets (50,998 million dinars), so it is highly ranked among the companies with the most valuable assets (27th place), and stands out in terms of the amount of capital employed (12,501 million dinars). It is also ranked high in the number of employees, which went up by 50, so in 2020, the company employed a total of 3,580 workers.
In fifth place on the list of the most active companies is the telecommunications company TELEKOM SRBIJA AD BELGRADE
In fifth place on the list of the most active companies is the telecommunications company TELEKOM SRBIJA AD BELGRADE, which generated business revenues in the amount of 88,161 million dinars, 2.2% higher than last year. The largest part of these revenues came from the sale of products and services on the domestic market (79,073 million dinars), a 1.6% increase which is primarily due to the growth of revenues from the retail sale of the Internet and multimedia services. Considering that operating expenses remained at last year’s level, the company’s profit from business activities increased by 30.3%, to the amount of 8,565 million dinars.
In other activities, the company’s loss was more than halved (703 million dinars), while the sub-balance of financing, after the profit of the previous year, showed a loss of 755 million dinars. With a high generated net profit of 5,509 million dinars (a 58.5% increase), the company ranks sixth among the most profitable companies. In addition, TELEKOM SRBIJA AD BELGRADE stands out in terms of quite a significant value of its business assets, which increased by 3.2% and are now worth 334,606 million dinars, which puts the company in the fifth place on the list of ONE HUNDRED BEST COMPANIES by business assets. At the same time, TELEKOM engaged 2.4% more capital compared to the previous year (worth 148,603 million dinars), and it ranks 6th in terms of the size of its capital. Also, the company employed 38 workers more than the year before, and in 2020, it had 6,805 employees.