Romanian software industry grows by 10.4% in 2019

By Edwig Ban
According to a KeysFin analysis, the software industry in Romania remains at the top of the key industries for the country’s economy, with a volume of approximately 6.2 billion euros in 2019.
The turnover of software developers in Romania increased by 12.6% compared to 2017 and by 51.6% compared to 2014, to 5.7 billion euros in 2018.
“Analyzing the market data and at the same time, taking into account the fluctuations of the industry, an advance of 10.4% of the turnover of the software companies in Romania is estimated for the current year, exceeding the threshold of 6.2 billion euros in 2019” , is shown in a statement KeysFin.
The foreign investors control 53% of the positive equity of software companies in Romania, while the share of local investments saw an annual advance of about 5 percentage points, thus reaching 47% in 2018, according to the KeysFin study.
The foreign investors in the local software market come from over 60 states, but Germany (10.7%), Luxembourg (7.3%), Holland (7.2%), UK (5.5%) are top. ) and Cyprus (with 4.8% of the total), these leaders controlling two thirds of the total foreign equity. As for the local investors, they come both from the big cities of the country, such as Bucharest or Cluj, but also from medium cities, which are starting to become resonant names for the local software start-ups industry, so such as Târgu-Mureş.
“It is for the third consecutive year when we carry out a study dedicated to the software industry in Romania, so we have a broad perspective on the market and we are connected to its trends. This is why increasing local investments by 5% in a single year in such a competitive market makes us look forward to the future of Romanian software: our country is beginning to become a regional hub not only for outsourcing, but also for outsourcing. Successful start-ups. Software is one of the few industries in Romania where there is a balance between local and foreign investments, which reflects a healthy and solid development of this field. ”Said Roxana Popescu, managing director of KeysFin.
An important and visible part of the entire software industry is the computer games market.
“Our country is proud of the development and testing of some of the most popular games internationally, and these results are also seen at the business level: the turnover of games publishers (NACE 5821) increased by 9% compared to 2017 and with 46% compared to 2014. For 2019, KeysFin experts expect an advance of over 13%, to over 255 million euros, ”say the specialists.
The largest software company in Romania remained Oracle Romania SRL with a turnover of over 206 million euros (3.6% of the total) in 2018. The ranking is completed by IBM Romania (200 million euros – 3.5 % of total), Ericsson Telecommunications Romania SRL (over 170 million euros, 3% of the total), SAP Romania SRL (approximately 108 million euros) and Endava Romania SRL (approximately 108 million euros). It is worth noting the entry of SAP Romania SRL in the top 5, with the highest percentage increase of 63%.
Regarding the top of the game publishers (CAEN 5821), the first place after the turnover of 2018 is occupied by Electronic Arts Romania SRL, which has recorded several records: the largest employer and the most profitable player in 2018 (38 million of turnover – 79% of the total), followed by King Games Studio (Bucharest) SRL (2.4 million euros – 4.9% of the total) and Green Horse Games SRL (11 million euros – 2, 2% of the total).
The software industry in Romania consolidates its position among the most successful sectors of the national economy, so that, out of the 20.7 thousand companies analyzed, 13,200 (64%) registered profit, 5,600 (27%) were lost, and the others had a zero result in 2018. SAP Romania, which managed to double its net profit to over 40 million euros, remains among the most profitable players in the field. And the profit of IBM Romania, the second most profitable player, has increased by 31% in the last year.
The average number of employees in the local software industry increased by 2.9% compared to 2017 and by 40% compared to 2014, to over 110,000 employees in 2018.
Bucharest remains the main hub for the software industry in Romania, with a result of over 3.3 billion euros, that is 58% of the total in 2018. Cluj County (16%) ranks second in terms of turnover. , which registered an advance of 1.5 percentage points compared to 2017, followed by Timiş (5%), Iasi (4.5%) and Brasov (3%).
Romania is the second largest provider of software and services in Eastern Europe and in the top 10 at European level.