28% of Israel's 500 largest companies reported losses in 2008 compared with 9% in 2007, reports BDI Coface today in its fifth annual ranking of Israeli companies. BDI attributes the increase to the appreciation of the shekel, which hurt exporters, and the sharp drop in exports in the fourth quarter of 2008, which affected profits.
The aggregate revenue of Israel's 500 largest companies rose 7% to NIS 853 billion in 2008 from NIS 797 billion in 2007. Aggregate turnover rose 8.1% to NIS 611 billion from NIS 565 billion, which BDI attributes to economic expansion in the first half of 2008.
The aggregate number of employees at Israel's 500 largest companies rose 5.7% to 822,000 in 2008 from 777,600 in 2007.
BDI says that there is a strong correlation between a company's ranking and its ranking as a good place to work. The first 62 of the companies rated as a good place to work are also among the 100 largest companies. There is also a strong correlation between a company's leadership as rated by managers and its size: The first 67 of the companies rated as leaders are also among the 100 largest companies.
40% of the 500 largest companies are public companies, 3.4% are government companies, and the rest are privately owned.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 9, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009