D&B Israel's 100 largest companies reports that Alon Dor Group was again Israel's largest service and trade company in 2004. D&B Israel ranks Israel's 150 largest enterprises in various sectors by operating revenue. Alon was also Israel's largest service and trade company in 2003.
Alon is an energy company active in Israel and the US, and owns part of the controlling interest in Blue Square Israel (NYSE: BSI; TASE: BSI). Ranked after Alon are Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. and Bezeq (TASE: BZEQ), in the same places as in 2003.
Delek Petroleum rose to fourth place from fifth in 2003, thanks to a 24.8% increase in sales to $1.79 billion, ousting Super Sol (NYSE: SSLTF.PK; TASE: SAE), which fell to fifth place, due to a 1.4% fall in revenue to $1.44 billion.
D&B Israel states that the aggregate revenue of Israel's 150 largest service and trade companies rose by 16.8% in 2004 to $39.8 billion. This figure conforms with the positive trend in Israel's economy. The Central Bureau of Statistics reports that the output of Israel's service and trade sector rose by 8.4% in 2004, and the number of employees in the sector rose by 3%.
Among the fastest growing companies in the D&B Israel list, Israel Railways stood out, rising to 27th place. Israel Railways only began operating as a company in July 2003, and has subsequently enjoyed rising demand for all its products. New Kopel Ltd. (TASE: NKPL), a car leasing company affiliated with Sixt Rent-A-Car, was also one of the fastest growing companies on the D&B Israel list.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 1, 2005