TIRANA, Oct. 4 – No Albanian company made it to the top 100 biggest enterprises in South East Europe for 2015, reflecting the slump in oil prices affecting the revenues of two of Albania’s largest oil traders and producers listed on the top 100 in 2014.
The biggest oil importer and trader, Albanian-owned Kastrati which has a market share of about 50 percent, ranked 138th for 2015 compared to 81st in 2014, according to a report issued by SEE news agency.
Kastrati, also involved in the insurance market and in the car trade industry, saw its revenue drop by 23 percent to €375 million in 2015. The company’s net profit slightly dropped to €9.1 million.
The country’s biggest oil producer, Canada-based Bankers Petroleum which is about to be taken over by a Chinese operator, ranked the 172nd biggest SEE company in 2015, down from 86th in 2014. The company reported losses of €14.5 million in 2015 compared to higher losses of €78 million in 2014 when international oil prices registered a drastic cut.
State-run OSHEE electricity distribution operator was Albania’s second largest company by revenue in 2015, at €372 million but the country’s most profitable operator with net profits of about €109 million for 2015. The boost is a result of an aggressive nationwide campaign launched in late 2014 to cut off illegal grid connections and collect accumulated unpaid debts that made the company recover from its failed privatization by Czech Republic’s CEZ.
Both Kastrati and the OSHEE operator made it to the SEE top 50 per capita in 2015, ranking 48th and 49th respectively with per capita revenue of about €130.
Kurum International steel producer, which this year initiated bankruptcy proceedings, was Albania’s fourth largest operator in 2015 with a turnover of €157 million, but losses of €33 million affected by a sharp decline in international base metal prices.
State-run power corporation, KESH, was Albania’s fifth biggest operator in terms of turnover in 2015 followed by two oil trading operators and three electronic communications operators including Vodafone Albania.
Albania was represented with seven lenders and four insurers in the top 100 SEE banks and insurance companies in 10 countries which also include Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Moldova.
Romanian car maker Automobile Dacia, a unit of France’s Renault, was the biggest SEE company for the second year in a row.
