Ljubljana related
STA, 20 April 2020 - Revoz, the Slovenian subsidiary of the French car maker Renault, continues to top the Delo list of Slovenia's largest exporters, followed by pharmaceutical companies Lek and Krka, and the household appliances maker Gorenje, the only four companies whose exports exceeded a billion euro in 2019.
Revoz recorded exports of EUR 1.77 billion, followed by Lek with EUR 1.48 billion and Krka with EUR 1.4 billion. Gorenje was at EUR 1.12 billion, shows a list published by Delo on Monday.
The top ten is rounded off by aluminium producer Impol, steel group SIJ, industrial conglomerate Kolektor, home appliances maker BSH Hišni Aparati, foundry LTH Castings and aluminium producer Talum.
Overall merchandise exports totalled EUR 33.5 billion in 2019 and trade continued to grow through February, but the coronavirus pandemic has probably already led to a sharp contraction.
Delo says the major exporters are now preoccupied with mitigating the damage, as supply chains have been interrupted and entire industries ground to a halt.
"We definitely don't expect a repeat of the results from previous years, but the survival of the company should not be jeopardised," Jani Jurkošek, the general manager of SIJ, told Delo.
Srečko Stefanič, the boss of chemical company Melamin, said that "we cannot count on a reversal of the trend ... before autumn, while the recovery and the return to what had already achieved may take a year or two."
Delo's annual list includes 110 companies that have reported their results. While the top ten are broadly unchanged, some major companies do not yet have audited results for 2019 and have therefore not been included on the list.
STA, 30 January 2020 - The group around the Novo Mesto-based drug maker Krka generated EUR 1.49 billion in sales revenue in 2019, or 12% more than in the year before, while net profit was up 39% to EUR 242 million, according to an estimate released by the management board on Thursday.
The group's operating profit was up by 18% to EUR 274 million, and pre-tax profit increased by 40% to EUR 283.7 million.
The core company generated EUR 1.39 billion in sales revenue, up 13% from 2018, and net profit more than doubled to EUR 248.1 million.
Last year, the Krka group generated EUR 481.2 million or 32.3% of total sales in East Europe, the largest market for Krka, with sales there increasing by 17% year-on-year. In Russia alone, sales were up by 13% to EUR 310.5 million.
Central Europe, comprising the Visegrad Group and the Baltic states, followed with EUR 339.6 million, or 22.8% of total Krka group sales. Sales there were up by 7% compared to the year before.
Sales to West Europe amounted to EUR 336 million or 22.6% of total sales, and were up by 17% compared to 2018. Germany, the Scandinavian countries, Spain, and Italy generated the strongest sales in the region.
With sales of EUR 191.3 million, South-East Europe represented a 12.8% share in total Krka group sales, and saw a 9% rise compared to the year before. Romania and Croatia were the largest markets, while the highest sales growth was recorded in Bulgaria and Serbia.
In Slovenia, sales were up by 4% to EUR 92.4 million, accounting for 6.2% of total sales. Product sales stood at EUR 52.9 million, while health resorts and tourist services yielded EUR 39.5 million.
In the overseas markets, the Krka group generated EUR 48.6 million in product sales, a 12% growth, which is 3.3% of total sales.
Commenting on the results, Krka chairman Jože Colarič noted that the group had posted its best sales result ever. Growth of sales was recorded in all regions and on the majority of markets, and sales were up in all groups of products and services, he added.
According to Colarič, the group plans to generate EUR 1.52 billion in sales and more than EUR 210 million in net profit this year. A total of EUR 134 million has been earmarked for investment in 2020, mostly in production and infrastructure.
Last year investments amounted to EUR 113 million, of which EUR 93 million was invested in the core company. Most of the funds went for modernisation of production and research, quality assurance and production and distribution centres.
In 2020, Krka plans to increase the workforce in Slovenia and abroad by a total of 3%, and is expected to have more than 12,300 employees at the end of the year, said Colarič.
The unaudited financial statements for 2019 for the group and core company will be published on 19 March, Krka said.
STA, 5 December 2019 - Pharmaceutical company Lek has been declared the top Slovenian employer in 2019, the first time in nine years that it has beaten rival drug maker Krka. The title is awarded by the jobs portal Mojedelo.
The award is the result of a poll involving 19,000 users of the jobs portal that measured various aspects of the reputation of companies as employers or potential employers, Styria Digital Marketplaces, which owns Mojedelo, said on Thursday.
Lek and Krka were followed in the rankings by energy companies Petrol and Gen-I, and telco Telekom Slovenije.
Lek, which is owned by the pharma giant Novartis, said the award recognised "that we have created an environment for our colleagues in which everyone can find their inspiration".
All our stories about employment in Slovenia are here
STA, 21 November - The Novo Mesto-based pharmaceutical group, Krka, generated EUR 1.09 billion in sales revenue in the first nine months of the year, which is 12% more than in the same period last year. Net profit increased by 42% to EUR 171.9 million. Sales were up in all regions and most markets.
The core company Krka saw its sales revenue rise by 10% to top EUR 1 billion, while its net profit rose by 46% to EUR 174.8 billion, shows the company's business report, published on the web site of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Sales went up in all regions and for all groups of products and services. Krka generated the most revenue in Eastern Europe, where sales went up by 18% to almost EUR 339.7 million in the first nine months of the year, which is 31% of total sales.
In Russia, the group's largest individual market, sales increased by 15% to EUR 218.2 million.
In Slovenia, where Krka generated 6.4% of its total sales, sales increased by 5% to EUR 69.9 million. Some EUR 40 million worth of products were sold in Slovenia alongside EUR 29.9 million worth of spa tourism services.
Central Europe, which contributed 23.2% to total sales revenue, recorded a 5% rise in revenue to EUR 252 million. In the biggest market of the region, Poland, sales were up 6% to EUR 119.2 million.
In Western Europe, sales jumped by 16% to EUR 243.1 million, which accounted for 22% of total sales. The biggest growth was recorded in Scandinavian countries, Spain, the UK and Benelux countries.
The sales revenue in South-East Europe rose by 10% to EUR 145.6 million, mostly on account of Bulgaria and Serbia.
The group allocated EUR 81.1 million for investment in the January-September period, of which EUR 66.3 million were investments of the core company.
In the first nine months of the year, 13 new products were registered in 30 pharmaceutical forms and strengths.
The group expects sales to reach EUR 1.43 billion at the end of this year. Net profit should top EUR 200 million and investment EUR 114 million, mostly into production capacities and infrastructure. Some 10% of sales revenue will go for research and development.
Next year, sales revenue is expected to reach EUR 1.52 billion and net profit over EUR 210 million. Labour force should increase by 3%, meaning that the group would employ more than 12,300 people at the end of 2020.
STA, 1 October 2019 - Krka, the Novo Mesto-seated pharmaceuticals group, has launched a new research and development centre to nearly double its R&D, and control and analysis capacities.
"With the new facility, which has state-of-the-art equipment for laboratories, analysis and technology, we've almost doubled Krka's development as well as control and analysis capacities, thus significantly improving R&D, which is at the core of Krka's vertically integrated business model," said Aleš Rotar, R&D director.
The Research and Control Centre 4 (RKC 4) is a EUR 55.6 million investment located on the outskirts of Novo Mesto, and is connected with a bridge to RKC 3 and then on to RKC 1.
The eight-storey building with 18,000 square metres of offices accommodates new control and analysis labs and R&D areas, CEO Jože Colarič said before Tuesday's inauguration.
Rotar stressed the centre was especially important for pilot development of solid pharmaceuticals as a key component in the development of new products.
The company believes RKC 4 will enable it to carry out advanced R&D tests at the very early laboratory stage and define the key features of a product in early stages.
At today's inauguration ceremony, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec labelled Krka as one of Slovenia's flagship companies, praising the company for its exports trends, development strategies, independence and its role in the local community.
He considers the investment an important milestone and an opportunity for development.
In the first half of 2019, the group posted a net profit of EUR 139.9 million, up 37% from the same period in 2018, on EUR 761.8 million sales revenue, up 12%.
The plan for this year is to finish with EUR 1.38 billion in sales revenue and EUR 172 million in net profit.
The group allocates 10% of its revenue for R&D and new technologies, and has more than 170 development projects for new products are under way.
It generates 29% of its sales with the new medicines which they have started selling over the past five years.
STA, 5 July 2018 - Drug maker Krka posted a net profit of EUR 101.4m for the first half of the year, up 11%, on the back of sales that reached an all-time high of EUR 680.5m, an increase of 4% on the year before, the company revealed at Thursday's annual general meeting.
STA, 28 May 2018 - The 300 largest Slovenian companies generated a combined EUR 41.7bn in revenue and EUR 1.7bn in profit last year, an increase of 13.5% and 21.4%, respectively, from the year before, shows a survey published by the newspaper Delo on Monday. The list is topped by energy company Petrol.
STA, 23 May 2018 - Slovenia's pharma group Krka posted EUR 338.3m in sales in the first quarter of the year, an all-time quarterly high and a 5% increase on the same period last year. Net profit was up by 16% to EUR 49.4m.
The company assembles Renault vehicles in Novo Mesto.
Net profit now 153.6m EUR, on sales of 1.27bn.
Krka Announces a 41% Rise in Net Profit, and New 5-Year Growth Strategy
