In its latest research, leading data and analytics company GlobalData analyzed the total revenue and profit change of 10 core business sectors that it tracks, based on the performance of the top 25 publicly traded companies in each sector (2017 vs. 2016).

Of the 10 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.

IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION: Please click here for chart: Revenue and profit change by business sector based on each of their top 25 company performances

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.

ENDS

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Notes to Editors

‘*’ The source data for this analysis has been taken from global stock exchange share price and market cap valuations together with end of year numbers from the companies own latest annual reports.

About GlobalData

4,000 of the world’s largest companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, make more timely and better business decisions thanks to GlobalData’s unique data, expert analysis and innovative solutions, all in one platform. GlobalData’s mission is to help our clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, financial, technology and professional services sectors. PR2663