TOP101 of the year 2018 is already the thirteenth Latvia’s most valuable enterprise top list formed jointly by Prudentia and Nasdaq. For TOP101 formation more than 6000 enterprise annual reports have been analysed during these thirteen years thus providing insight in the value changes of the Latvia’s most valuable enterprises. The total value of the enterprises represented in TOP101 of 2018 is 17,7 billion euro that, in comparison with TOP101 of 2017, has grown by 0,9%. This year the decrease by 2,4% was observed in the value of the most valuable enterprise Latvenergo due to the mood in the European financial and capital markets despite the substantially better financial outcomes. The entry threshold of TOP101 of 2018 has grown from 46,8 million euros in the previous year by 0,5 % to 47,1 million euros this year.
Regardless of the increase by 0,9 % in the value of the enterprises included in TOP10, Latvia’s GDP has grown more rapidly – by 4,6% (in actual prices – by 8%) implying both more anxious mood of the investors in the European financial markets and potentially more rapid growth in the value of the small and medium-sized enterprises than those included into TOP101 list.
Similar to the previous year, the financial services sector was the most valuable sector of 2018 TOP101 with the value of 2,6 billion euros. The second place is taken by the transit and logistics sector with the value of 2,3 billions and the third place is taken by the public utility service sector with the value of 2,2 billion euros.
In TOP101 of the last 5 years there is observed a significant growth in the value of private equity companies which totally have grown by 6% per year on average during the last 5 years whereas the total value of the state-owned enterprises has grown only by 3,3% on average per year showing in general that the private sector companies have produced more efficient results in the value growth than the state owned enterprises.
It was evident in the historical TOP101 that totally the environment of Latvia’s entrepreneurship is able to adjust both to complicated financial and geopolitical situations. In general the total value of the enterprises represented in this year’s TOP101 shows that at present, irrespective of the improvement in the enterprise financial outcomes, the enterprise value stability is observed in relation to the mood in the European financial markets. We expect in future that the environment of Latvia’s entrepreneurship will continue its development exerting a positive influence both on the enterprise financial indicators and accordingly – on the economic situation in Latvia.