Portuguese Champions
Winners of the annual 'Best of European Business' competition in Portugal accepted their prizes in an exclusive setting on January 29. European leaders in renewable energies and a major Portuguese Blue Chip were among those honored. The exclusive Ritz Four Seasons Hotel in Portugal's capital Lisbon played host to the third annual 'Best of European Business' competition hosted by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. The event was supported by media partner Jornal de Negócios and ISCTE Business School, serving as academic partner to the competition. Analysts from Roland Berger surveyed publicly available data from hundreds of companies before nominating a shortlist. A high-level panel of independent jurors then selected the winners, which included companies leading Europe's 'green technology' efforts, such as GalpEnergia and Grupo EDP. António Bernardo, Deputy CEO of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants presented the competition and its role in highlighting European best practice nationally and internationally, in the annual capstone event in Brussels, to the over 300 invited guests from the worlds of business and politics. Winning companies were chosen in four categories: Profitable Growth; Exceptional performance in realizing cross-border mergers and acquisitions; Level of Iberian integration and Outstanding performance in BRIC countries. The jury also named Luís Palha da Silva, President of the Executive Commission of food distributor Grupo Jerónimo Martins as 'BEB Manager of the Year'. The readers of Jornal de Negócios named António Mexia, President of energy giant Grupo EDP as the winner of their special prize for leadership of a PSI20 (Portuguese Stock Exchange) listed company. | ||
Challenges for global business Addressing the guests ahead of the awards presentation, Roland Berger, Chairman and founder of the consultancy that bears his name, offered his insights into future challenges in a rapidly changing business environment. He underlined that emerging markets should not be understood as a threat, rather seen as a new opportunity for European companies. Rapidly developing economies were, for instance, still largely dependent on imported know-how to expand their infrastructure. This field, in which EU companies led the way with their technology would be a driver for European exports for some time to come. At the same time, continental businesses had to be aware of the fact that new global players were rapidly emerging in new markets, such as Mittal, Tata and Lenovo. These actors were already clear contenders in the global game, Berger said. Technological progress would, however, offer great opportunities for global collaboration and innovation, providing European companies seized them. With a nod to the shockwaves still rocking financial markets following the US sub-prime crisis, he warned of a global recession that would affect all global actors, though to a differing degree. Other mega-trends included an increasingly intense war for talent, given the decline of demographic rates in established markets and the possible effects of global resource shortages on manufacturing and transport. Berger also reflected on how Portuguese companies could excel in this rapidly changing environment. The winners of the BEB competition proved that internationalization could spell success, he said. He lauded the Portuguese government's approaches toward catalyzing higher productivity, which include innovation incentives to medium-sized companies and the promotion of broadband networks to increase rapid communication flows. He also had a number of recommendations for local businesses: They needed to take greater risks in the capital markets and become more involved in private equity financing. As a whole, the country needed to step up its R&D resources to liberate new innovative energy. If companies focused on attaining and retaining leadership in growing markets, promoted interrelated synergies in business development, controlled value drivers and linked incentives with value creation, then sustainable growth could be created even in a globally competitive environment. | ||
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A winning recipe The winners of this year's competition were announced individually and presented with their awards by António Bernardo and members of the jury. Large company winner in the Growth category was energy leader GalpEnergia, while Martifer, one of Europe's largest steel construction companies garnered top honors for medium sized companies. Grupo EDP, who demonstrated exceptional development in Brazil was recognized with the only award in the 'Cross-border M&A' category. Meanwhile, floors manufacturer Sonae Indústria was chosen for its accelerated growth in Central European markets, which built on its success in Portugal and Spain. Brisa, the largest Portuguese motorway operator was selected by the jury based on the strong growth in its deals with BRIC countries, which increased by 10% between 2005 and 2006 alone. | ||
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Winning Company Profiles
Profitable Growth GalpEnergia, Portugal's leading integrated oil and natural gas company was selected as the large enterprise winner in this category. The jury was impressed with the company's double-digit growth of 15.3% between 2002 and 2006 and its strong EBITDA of 2,305.4 in 2006 alone. Galp had shown innovativeness with its exploration of new production areas in Angola and Brazil, the jury said in its verdict. In addition, it highlighted the successful integration of AGIP into the company in Spain. Construction company Martifer won the medium-sized company prize. A European leader in steel construction, the company had excelled in diversifying its business across international markets to create sustainable growth. Between 2002 and 2006 the firm achieved a 34.7% CAGR margin. The jury praised how it had extended its reach to markets in Australia, Africa and the Americas. Cross-border M&A The acquisition and successful integration of Horizon Wind Energy impressed the judges sufficiently to award the only prize in this category to leading sustainable energy producer Grupo EDP. The deal had allowed Grupo EDP to further extend its green energy drive to 559 MW in capacity and gain access to construction projects in the field, which promise an additional 997 MW output. The purchase for EUR 2 billion had put Grupo EDP firmly in the fourth spot in the global ranking of leading green energy companies. Iberian Integration A special category to BEB Portugal, this award recognized the company which had most successfully used its domestic leverage to expand on the Iberian Peninsula. Judges were favorably impressed by Sonae Indústria's approach, which had generated a sales volume of 64%. Collaborative deals with other firms had given the company even more of a firm footing to explore possibilities in European and international markets. Its products, which include floor laminates, MDF and wood veneer, were sought after in markets around the world, including South Africa and Poland. Outstanding performance in BRIC countries Brisa, Portugal's leading highway operator, with concessions along a network of 11 highways with a total length of around 1050 km had successfully taken its concept to the BRIC countries, according to the members of the jury. It had become a major operator of road networks in Latin America and increased its deal volume in BRIC countries to 19% of its total revenue, equaling EUR 127 million. The volume of these deals had thus increased by 10%. In Brazil, the company had secured new potential with 7200 kilometers of roadway. If you have a question on this, or any other story, please do not hesitate to contact us:  |
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