Romanian deputy PM: SOEs generate EUR 26 bln in revenue, subsidies outweigh aggregated profits

Romania’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) generated revenues of RON 127 billion (EUR 26 billion, no reference year indicated), but continue to receive state subsidies larger than their aggregated profits, deputy prime minister Dragoș Anastasiu said during a press conference on July 22. The figures were released as part of the government’s broader reform plan to overhaul SOE corporate governance and improve financial efficiency.

According to data centralised by the Agency for Monitoring the Performance of Public Enterprises (AMEPIP), total subsidies granted to SOEs amounted to RON 14 billion, while gross profits reached just RON 15 billion, Ziarul Financiar reported.

AMEPIP monitors 1,326 public enterprises across Romania, of which 1,182 are managed at the local level and 144 at the central level. These include 376 joint-stock companies, 88 autonomous regies, and 842 limited liability companies.

Roughly 300 enterprises failed to submit financial data, while another 250 reported zero revenue. Together, these 550 companies are now facing penalties, with the agency having begun issuing fines on July 21. Civil servants are required to report financial information to both ANAF and AMEPIP.

From the total, only 315 companies account for 96% of the overall turnover and employ 173,000 of the 256,000 staff working in state enterprises. These top-performing SOEs also received RON 13.6 billion in subsidies and generated RON 14.9 billion in profits, highlighting the extreme polarisation.

Hidroelectrica alone contributed 46% of total SOE profits, Anastasiu said.

Conversely, 266 companies recorded combined losses of RON 2.5 billion. Seven of them – including CFR, Electrocentrale Craiova, Unifarm, CFR Marfă, Termoenergetica, Metrorex, and Complex Energetic Valea Jiului – generated RON 2 billion in losses despite receiving government subsidies.

The data tables collected by AMEPIP will be made publicly available in the coming days, the deputy prime minister added.

(Photo source: Gov.ro)