Oil, gas, metals, mining and construction are the best performers

In the most recent analysis of business sector performance in 2017 conducted by GlobalData

Of the ten sectors, oil & gas, metals & mining, and construction emerged as the top performers, with over 10% growth in both revenue and profitability between 2016 and 2017; while pharma, banking, and medical devices turned out to be the weakest performers with less than 10% growth across both measures. Sectors such as technology & communication, insurance, power, and consumer reported double-digit growth in profits, despite subdued growth in revenue.

The collective change in the aggregate year-on year revenue and net profit performance of the combined list of 250 companies across these 10 sectors, stood at 10.5% and 24.9%, respectively.

Banking — Of the top 25 banks, Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, HDFC and Sberbank reported a double-digit revenue growth, while HSBC, Commonwealth Bank and Itau Unibanco witnessed a fall with 10 banks achieving a double-digit profit increase in 2017. HSBC reported an exceptional growth of 335.6% in its net profit on the back of a strong performance from Asia, and non-recurrence of one-off costs that hampered last year’s profitability.

Construction — The revenue of eight construction companies grew, with Country Garden, China Evergrande and Anhui Conch growing over 30%. Seven companies registered a growth of over 50% profit, with Country Garden and Anhui Conch witnessing a profit growth of 98% and 83%, respectively.

Consumer — Seven consumer companies grew more than 10% in revenue. Anheuser-Busch, Kraft Heinz and Reckitt Benckiser were the exceptional performers in terms of profit.

Insurance — Of all the top 25 insurance companies, AIA Group, Ping An, China Life, Prudential, China Pacific Insurance, Manulife, Progressive and Tokio Marine reported a double-digit growth in revenue. Eleven companies reported more than 40% profit growth, while eight companies reported a decline in their profits and two reported net loss.

Medical Equipment — Of the top 25 medical equipment companies, seven companies registered a double-digit revenue growth and 10 companies followed suit in profit terms.

Metals & Mining — The collective profit growth of 291.4%, recorded by the top 25 Metals & Mining companies in 2017, was the highest among all sectors. The revenue of four companies grew more than 30%, while two firms reported a decline. In terms of profitability, Barrick Gold’s net profit surged to 119.5% as a result of the reversal of impairments and gains on sale of interests in Veladero mine and the Cerro Casale project.

Oil & Gas — With a significant 204% growth, oil & gas stood second in profit growth. The revenue of 22 Oil & Gas companies achieved double digit growth. Chevron, Equinor, EOG Resources, Occidental Petroleum, Eni and Mitsubishi Corporation returned to profit in 2017, as the sector recovered.

Power — In the power sector, Southern Co, Iberdola and CLP registered a revenue growth of over 10%, whereas revenue in EDF, AEP, Hanwha, MEC and ConEdison declined. Exelon, Engie, National Grid, AEP and Orsted were the exceptional profit performers, with above 140% growth rates.

Pharma — Among the 10 sectors analyzed, Pharma was the only sector to have experienced mixed results in 2017. The top 25 pharma companies reporting a 4.1% growth in revenue and a 23.9% drop in profits with eight companies reporting a decline of more than 30% in profits. Overall, the revenue of seven companies and the net profit of nine companies achieved double digit growth.

Technology & Communications — Among the top 25 tech firms, 10 players witnessed a double-digit growth in revenue. Cisco, AT&T, Nippon Telegraph, and Qualcomm reported a decline in revenue, while Facebook, Tencent, Samsung, AT&T, Verizon, NVIDIA, Broadcom, Salesforce, and Comcast reported over 50% growth in profit.

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