Analytics, Baltic, Markets and Companies, Rating

Lithuania was represented by a greater amount – seven – enterprises compared with five from Latvia and two from Estonia.

Financial Times experts noted that Lithuania has the biggest domestic market and has inherited the strongest manufacturing base from the Soviet period, that is why it has seven companies in the rating, including two enterprises – in top 100, reports ELTA.

Lithuania is represented in a list by Polish PKN Orlen-owned refinery Mazeikiu Nafta, a retail chain Maxima, an oil company Lukoil Baltija, a retailers Palink and Senukai, nitrogen fertilizers and chemical products manufacturer Achema, as well as Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai.

Mazeikiu Nafta, the largest Baltic company by revenue, ranked 36th which is a steep fall from its last ranking of 15, the result of a serious fire at the refinery at the end of 2006. It is expected that this year Mazeikiu Nafta would climb back up the rankings, boosted by high oil prices.

Maxima, the second largest Baltic company, is at number 62, demonstrating Lithuania’s strength in retailing, derived from its early consolidation of the domestic sector.

Maxima, which is part of the locally-owned Vilniaus Prekyba conglomerate, has expanded throughout the Baltics and also into Bulgaria. Along with other Baltic retailers it has benefited from soaring retail sales over the past few years, fuelled by rising wages and easy credit, but it will now have to endure tougher times, the Financial Times noted.

As for Latvian enterprises, IT equipment wholesaler Elko, a retail chain Rimi, national electricity operator Latvenergo, Vincent Partners Group, and oil, gas and aerospace logistics company Oil Logistic were included in the list.

Estonia was marked in the top 500 with Tallink (number 228), the third largest Baltic company, which has soared up the rankings since acquiring Finland’s Silja Line in 2006, the representatives of the Financial Times noted.

Baltic companies will have to rely even more on exports over the next few years as their domestic economies enter recession, experts of the Financial Times emphasised.

As the specialists say, Estonia is in technical recession and Latvia is likely to follow before the end of the year, as rising inflation and the collapse of a housing boom depress consumer sentiment and investment. Companies also face the challenge of improving productivity and keeping wage increases down.

"A sizeable part of production has been based on low labour costs," says Erkki Raasuke, chief executive of Hansabank, the biggest Baltic bank. "This advantage is now gone."