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Brazilian corporation’s expansion sets the trend in this new ranking edition.



The tendency is irrepressible. Brazil, the powerful South American country, once again proves its corporations’ advantage compared to those in the rest of the region. This is because this new edition’s ranking of the 500 Top Latin American Companies shows Brazilian companies’ unquestionable leadership. First, as regards quantity: 226 Brazilian companies this year (14 companies more than in 2008) represent a 45% of the total corporations in this ranking. If we compare the sales volume, Brazilians get a 48% of the total, almost 9% more than the previous year. Brazilian growth is such, that the rest of the countries of the region could only maintain or reduce its participation with these two indicators (with the honourable exception of Bolivia, which for the first time includes a company, and Colombia, which could add two new companies to the ranking and presented an increase score of several tenth points).



In fact, if it hadn’t been for Brazilian companies’ expansion, which made it possible for the sum of the sales obtained during last year by the 500 largest Latin American Companies to exceed U$s 2 billion for the first time (yes, two times a million millions), 2009 would have been a mediocre year for the 500 largest companies of the region.



Yes. While the 226 Brazilian corporations in the annual ranking of America Economía increased their sales by an average of 42%, the other 274 from the rest of the region only did it by a 4,5% - which results in a general average of 21,6%. It is true, however, that this comparison is affected by the exchange effect, because sales are calculated in nominal dollars and the Brazilian Real increased in value during 2009 more than many currency in the region. But this is also the result of the good development of domestic Brazilian economy, the diversification of exports ant the increasing direct presence at international markets. It is most probable that the Brazilian advantage continues to increase in the following years, because companies in that country are growing ten times faster than those in the rest of the region.





Besides, Brazil gets a relevant symbolic prize: for the first time since this ranking is carried out, for more than 20 years, a company which is neither the Mexican Pemex nor the Venezuelan PDVSA gets the first place in the ranking. Believe it or not. Since 2010, the Brazilian Petrovras with a level of U$s 105.000 millions in sales is officially the largest company in Latin America. It beats Pemex by almost 20.000 millions and the Venezuelan PDVSA by almost U$s 44.000, the latter due to serious management trouble has dropped its annual oil barrel production, reducing its sales rates to a half of what they had produced the previous year.

Some Brazilian Companies stood out in relation to the rest, like the company Telemar telecommunications, which doubled their sales when growing by a 114,1% and surpassing a sales level of U$s 17000. Cosa’s sales increase, the food company which evolved into bio fuel producer and by 2009 had reached 7638 millions, was even more outstanding. The oil company Ultrapar (with 71,5%) and the meat producer JBS Friboi (51,8%) shine bright in the Brazilian universe.



Source: América Economía