The Serbian Business Registers Agency has published the “Annual Report on the Performance of the Real Sector Consolidated Groups in 2020”. The publication is based on the data comprised in the 2019 and 2020 consolidated annual financial statements submitted to the Agency by the parent companies according to the law governing accounting.
The Annual Report contains an analysis of the financial standing and business performance of 630 real sector consolidated groups, encompassing not only the parent companies but also 2,053 subsidiary legal entities and associated legal entities. The number of consolidated groups decreased by 33 compared to the previous year, while the number of subsidiaries and associated legal entities increased by 19. At the same time, the number of employees in the real sector consolidated groups decreased from 320,567 to 316,785.
As in previous years, the largest number of legal entities operated within the DELTA HOLDING DOO BEOGRAD group, which comprised 61 legal entities (five more than in 2019), of which 17 had their registered seat abroad. A large number of legal entities are grouped within the KOEFIK DOO BEOGRAD consolidated group, encompassing a total of 55 legal entities, 12 more than in the previous year. The MK GROUP DOO BEOGRAD was encompassing 47 related legal entities (36 in 2019). A high-volume consolidation is observed also in the following consolidated groups: MPZ AGRAR DVA DOO NOVI SAD (44 legal entities), MPZ AGRAR DOO NOVI SAD (27 legal entities), NICCO DOO BELGRADE (25 legal entities) and I&F GRUPA DOO BEOGRAD (22 legal entities).
In 2020, which was marked by the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, consolidated groups reduced the volume of business activities, generating a total income of RSD 3,564,142 million (6.7% lower compared to the previous year) and total expenses of RSD 3,387,513 million, which were declining at a faster pace, at a rate of 7.2%. They operated profitably on the overall level, gaining a positive net result of RSD 144,680 million, which was 5.9% higher compared to the previous year. A net profit was recorded by 518 consolidated groups (559 in 2019), whose consolidation circle encompassed 1,735 subsidiary legal entities and associated legal entities, while 112 groups (eight more than in the previous year), which encompassed 318 subsidiary legal entities and associated legal entities, operated with a net loss.
The financial capacities of consolidated groups were also reduced in 2020. Their business operating assets, amounting to RSD 5,277,409 million, were 3.9% lower on an annual level. Their equity, amounting to RSD 2,716,353 million, was 5.4% lower compared to the previous year. At the same time, their total liabilities, amounting to RSD 2,707,792 million, decreased by 2.1%, while their accumulated loss of RSD 751,723 million increased by 1.7%. Said trends have impacted the shareholder equity ratio, which fell from 49.6% to 48.7%, as well as the level of debt-to-equity ratio, which increased from 1.02 to 1.05.
Consolidated groups affect the overall economic trends significantly. On average, a quarter of the financial performances of the economy is concentrated within consolidated groups, i.e. 29.5% of total income, 29.4% of total expenses, 26.2% of net profit and 14.9% of net loss. Their share in the financial capacities accounts for 30.7% of the business operating assets, 33.8% of equity and 19.7% of the total loss of the economy. Additionally, they were employing 26% of the overall number of employees in the economy.
The Report, in addition to the analysis of the overall business performance of consolidated groups, the analysis of business performance and specificities of leading consolidated groups by basic financial performances, also displays 20 groups with the highest operating income and net profit, the largest operating assets and equity, as well as the largest net loss and total loss.
The JP EPS BEOGRAD group was the most profitable and the largest consolidated group in 2020, while the MK GROUP DOO BEOGRAD, JP SRBIJAGAS NOVI SAD, COCA-COLA HBC DOO ZEMUN and HEMOFARM AD VRŠAC were ranked among the top five groups by net profit. They were also included in the ranking of the segment of 20 groups that generated the highest operating income.
The five groups that generated the highest operating income were: JP EPS BEOGRAD, JP SRBIJAGAS NOVI SAD, NIS AD NOVI SAD (second-ranked by the amount of net loss), TELEKOM SRBIJA AD BEOGRAD and DELHAIZE SERBIA DOO BEOGRAD, of which the latter two recorded high profitability (ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, by net profit).
“The Annual Report on the Performance of the Real Sector Consolidated Groups in 2020” is posted within the section Financial Statements - Publications / Annual Reports on the Performance of Legal Entities, Entrepreneurs and Consolidated Groups.