What results of big companies say about economy performance in Q3

Big energy and pharmaceutical companies recorded sales increases in the third quarter of the year against the similar period of 2009, while FMCG, DIY retailers, cement producers and mobile phone operators continue to report sales declines.

A first analysis of the Romanian economy in the third quarter, after examining results announced by some of the biggest players in the economy, reveals there are some industries which show slight signs of recovery, while for others, especially consumer industries, it becomes increasingly apparent that Romanians' spending budget is being drastically revised from one month to another.

"An accurate analysis of the current situation needs to be made on a sector-by-sector basis because there are major differences between economic sectors, as well as different trends depending largely on the factors that influence each sector," says Codruţ Pascu, managing partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Romania. He explains that some sectors are primarily dependent on foreign markets (because they export a large part of their production), others (consumer businesses for instance) depend on domestic trends, especially consumption trends, while yet others depend on external and internal investments.