Slovenian companies profiting From a Recovery?

The half-year results are in and it seems like some firms in Slovenia are well and truly on the road to recovery. Companies in sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals to retail, finance and energy have all been registering profit. While Slovenia has been officially out of the recession since the second quarter, such good results were unexpected. But the recovery hasn’t spread to every company and some prove it might be shortlived.

After enduring a severe economic slump, Slovenia seems to be on the mend. Production and exports are on the increase and the first half of this year paints an interesting picture. Some companies have well and truly bounced back, reporting that they are so overwhelmed with orders they will be kept busy until at least the end of this year. Others report much greater success in the first half of this year than they experienced during the same period last year.

One of the most impressive success stories is that of energy provider Petrol. The firm has posted EUR 22.4m net profit in the first half of 2010 – 20 percent more than planned and more than double of the group’s net profit in the year before. Profits are up a mind-boggling 157 percent.

The energy sector is far from the only one on the up. Drug maker Krka generated EUR 500m in sales in the first half of the year, an increase of nearly five percent on the same period in 2009. Net profit at the group rose 17 percent to EUR 91.2m. Insurance companies are also doing well. Reinsurer Pozavarovalnica Sava generated EUR 1.28m in net profit in the first half of the year, compared to a net loss of EUR 6.52m in the same period last year. The group around Zavarovalnica Triglav posted a net profit of EUR 17.9m, up 55 percent over the year before, on the back of a marginal drop in premiums which was offset with lower payouts.

The group around the Velenje-based household appliance maker Gorenje also did well, posting EUR 4.9m in net profit compared to a EUR 18m loss in the same period last year. Consolidated sales revenues amounted to EUR 610m, up 7.4 percent year-on-year. And the group around Slovenia’s leading grocer Mercator reported a net profit of EUR 17.7m, which is up 60 per cent from the same period last year.

 

News links: The Slovenian Times link: article