The combined revenues of the 387,000 active companies in Bulgaria contracted in 2023 for the first time in the past decade. Year on year, sales declined 0.95% to 607.9 billion levs (about 304 billion euro), data of the National Revenue Agency (NRA) show.
The decrease was much more moderate than the decline reported by the top 100 largest companies ranked by the Capital Weekly, whose combined turnover shrank by 14.35% to 125.6 billion levs. The explanation lies in the fact that the top 100 list includes the energy giants, which saw their revenues normalize after two years of price spikes. Even so, the top 100 companies still account for over one-fifth of the total reported revenues.
The profit of the top 100 businesses also shrank at a slightly higher rate than the average - by 16.55% to 7.95 billion levs. Outside the group of electricity and fuel giants, companies have had a decent year. Most sectors and companies were doing well, despite external armed conflicts, political instability in the country and a weak economy in Europe.
The new Capital 100 ranking will be published on November 1.
NRA's data also show that the total accounting profit of all companies in Bulgaria decreased 1.72% to 54.6 billion levs in 2023, marking a second drop in the last decade after the pandemic year of 2020, when it fell by 1.42%. However, some companies had a tougher year, as reflected in the data about reported tax losses, which increased 14.47% to 6.9 billion levs.
The sector with the fastest-growing profits in 2023 was finance and insurance, with a nearly 120% increase. Other sectors, such as culture, sports, and entertainment, education, and construction, also contributed positively, although their growth was more moderate, ranging from 30% to 44%. The deepest losses were seen in companies from the mining industry, agriculture and the professional and scientific activities sector.
The data also show that the number of active companies in the country increased by 10,000 in 2023. Since 2016 only operating companies are required to submit corporate tax declarations to the NRA, which excludes inactive enterprises from the calculation.
Winners and losers
The NRA report does not include a breakdown of revenues by sector, but such a breakdown is provided for profits and losses. The data from the agency show that - for another consecutive year - trade remains the leading sector, with a profit of 10.5 billion levs in 2023 - a 2.41% decline year on year. The second position remains for the manufacturing industry with nearly 8.4 billion levs of profit for 2023 compared to 8.8 billion levs the previous year. The top three most profitable sectors are rounded out by finance and insurance, where the total positive result jumped to 6.1 billion levs from 2.8 billion levs in 2022. Overall, the declared taxable profit increased 3.47% to 48.3 billion levs, which represents a nominal increase of 1.6 billion levs.
As for the tax losses declared by companies in Bulgaria, the nominal increase was half as much-867 million levs-but in percentage terms the growth rate was much higher due to the lower base, rising by 14.47% to a total of 6.9 billion levs. The most loss-making sector in 2023 was professional and scientific activities, where the negative financial result widened by a staggering 187%, or 818 million levs, to 1.26 billion levs. Next was trade, where losses increased by 415 million levs to 1.07 billion levs. The top three sectors with the biggest losses also include the manufacturing industry but there the trend was reversed with the loss narrowing by 60 million levs to 697 million levs.
The combined revenues of the 387,000 active companies in Bulgaria contracted in 2023 for the first time in the past decade. Year on year, sales declined 0.95% to 607.9 billion levs (about 304 billion euro), data of the National Revenue Agency (NRA) show.
The decrease was much more moderate than the decline reported by the top 100 largest companies ranked by the Capital Weekly, whose combined turnover shrank by 14.35% to 125.6 billion levs. The explanation lies in the fact that the top 100 list includes the energy giants, which saw their revenues normalize after two years of price spikes. Even so, the top 100 companies still account for over one-fifth of the total reported revenues.