The Bulgarian outsourcing sector not only survived its first major crisis during the pandemic of 2020, it also went on to report a significant increase in revenues in 2021. A key factor was the successful transition of their employees to remote work.
The K100 sector ranking shows the trends in 2021 even though some of the big players did not provide their results.
The average profit growth in the top 5 is 6%, while only one participant reports a lower turnover. The positive results are also confirmed by data from the Association for Innovations, Business Services and Technologies (AIBEST). According to them, the sector forms 6.6% of GDP and it will grow to 11.2% by 2024, or 6.6 billion euros. Within the outsourced business processes division, more than 77 thousand people are employed.
The top companies in the ranking are all subsidiaries of international groups. Three of them were, or are, related to the former kingpin Hewlett-Packard. The two top companies stay the same for another year. Many of the companies in the sector are engaged in a wide variety of activities and services, often involving technological support and even software development. Thus, this ranking overlaps another by Kapital - for the largest software companies.
The leader
The leader for the fifth consecutive year is Enterprise Services Bulgaria. The company was formed six years ago after the merger of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and Computer Sciences Corp., which created the DXC Technology group. The company is the successor to the long-time leader in the industry, the Hewlett-Packard Global Delivery Bulgaria Center. After the deal was done, Enterprise Services Bulgaria and the Bulgarian company DXC Technologies Bulgaria (formerly CSC Bulgaria) started work with 460 employees. The latter also takes part in the Kapital software companies ranking.
Enterprise Services Bulgaria remains the absolute leader in terms of revenue, although it reports a slight drop in turnover by 3% to BGN 252 million. At the same time, profit and employees are growing. The company handles IT infrastructure support as well as business process outsourcing for DXC clients such as purchasing, business reporting, project management, etc. Its biggest market is Germany, followed by the USA and Great Britain.
The rest
Second in the ranking is Callpoint New Europe, which operates under the TELUS International Europe brand, part of the Canadian telecom TELUS. It has three centers - two in Sofia and one in Plovdiv, and is the largest employer in the sector with nearly 4,400 employees this year. It supports services in dozens of languages, and among its customers are large groups such as Google, Epic Games, and Facebook, etc. The Bulgarian company is also the most profitable in the sector with a profit of BGN 41.5 million.
The third is Modis Bulgaria, the successor of Adecco Bulgaria, which took over the group's outsourced services business (Adecco continued to work as a recruiter and has 860 employees). After being the leader in terms of growth last year, revenue rise is now "only" 16%. In Bulgaria, the company provides a variety of services: IT systems' support in different languages, remote service and software installation. Modis Bulgaria is the only one to have reported a decrease in employees in 2021, but this year it has restored the number of employees to previous levels.
Fourth is another company from the HP brand- Hewlett-Packard Global Delivery Bulgaria Center, part of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. After reporting a decline in turnover and employees during the pandemic 2020, it registered new gains last year. Revenues grew by 12% to BGN 105 million, and employees exceeded 1,600 this year. From its offices in Sofia, the company deals with remote support of IT infrastructure for clients of HRE. Its biggest markets are Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Fifth is HP Inc. Bulgaria, part of the American HP Inc., which, after the separation of Hewlett-Packard, is involved in the production of computers and printers. From its offices in Bulgaria, the company performs several types of services through its customer service centers: remote computer support for end and corporate customers, printer system support and spare parts supply chain management. More than 640 people are employed in these three activities this year. Revenues are also growing - by 15% to BGN 67 million.
Expectations are that the sector will continue to grow, especially because of the need for new skills and technologies. An example is the Bulgarian company Pontika Solutions, established a few years ago and already hiring 800 employees, with BGN 20 million in revenue and several offices in Sofia, Varna, and Burgas as well as in Poland.
The Bulgarian outsourcing sector not only survived its first major crisis during the pandemic of 2020, it also went on to report a significant increase in revenues in 2021. A key factor was the successful transition of their employees to remote work.
The K100 sector ranking shows the trends in 2021 even though some of the big players did not provide their results.
