March the 7th, 2023 - Five Croatian companies have made it onto the Financial Times' prestigious list of the fastest growing companies based in Europe.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Josipa Ban writes, as many as five Croatian companies have been included in the prestigious Financial Times list of the fastest growing European companies. This ranking follows the growth of company revenues in the last three years, ending in 2021, and according to the growth criteria, five Croatian companies have entered the prestigious rankings of the 1000 best.

At the very top of the list, in a very impressive fourteenth position, is Aircash, which makes it the best positioned domestic company, but also one of the fastest growing in Europe. Devōt (87th place), Syntio (551st place), Heloo (712th place) and SysKit (771st place) also follow.

At number one on the FT list was Tripledot Studio, a mobile video game development studio from Great Britain whose three-year average revenue growth rate was 794%. The most fast-growing European companies on the list come from Italy (260), Germany (217) and Great Britain (155).

The impressive growth in income achieved by these companies, writes FT, can be best explained by the situation they found themselves in back in 2021. It was a time of restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic and interruptions in supply chains. Because of the above, many sectors, especially tourism, catering/hospitality and trade, faced a significant drop in sales and an increase in costs. And while they were fighting for survival, the IT and technology sector was blooming. Namely, people were forced to work, and then do their shopping from home, which accelerated the digitisation process and the growth of online sales.

"The FT's great recognition for our company is also a confirmation of the success of our continuous work and efforts in the development of innovative financial products and services. We managed to radically and permanently change the way the traditional industry functions, and this is a confirmation that we 'e going in the right direction", said Hrvoje Cosic, the founder and director of Aircash, the company that developed the very first Croatian digital wallet, which is used by more than half a million people today.

Their growth, he says, was significantly influenced by the expansion of operations to several new EU markets last year. Investments in the development of new technologies and products will be crucial for their continued growth and maintaining their leading position in this industry, he pointed out.

"Further expansion plans will further strengthen our global position, and considering the fact that we work to improve the user experience every day and offer simpler and more efficient solutions for our users, this recognition further motivates us to continue working on the development of new services and products and the establishment of new partner relationships in with the goal of further business expansion,'' the founder and director of Aircash stated as his plans for this year.

With impressive growth of 155% and revenues of 2.6 million euros, Devōt, which is focused on product development within the so-called health tech system is the second best positioned domestic company on the list.

Third, in 551st position, comes Syntio, whose average three-year growth was 57.4%, while its revenues in 2021 amounted to 3.4 million euros. It is a company that was founded in 2017 and deals with cloud-based data engineering. Today, they have 110 employees, and their clients come from all over the world, from Scandinavia to the USA to South Africa.

"Year after year, we've been recording positive business results, and this prestigious award confirms that we're carrying out quality work for the second year already," pointed out Davorin Cetto, the co-founder and director of Syntio.

With growth of 47.3 percent, the company Heloo, which achieved 12 million euros in revenue in 2021, also took 712th place on FT's list.

The last of the Croatian companies that managed to enter the list thanks to its business results is SysKit. This particular startup, which develops a platform for managing Microsoft's environments, is positioned in 771st place with a growth of 44.8 percent and three million euros in revenue in 2021.

"Although for the last few years we've been extremely focused on scaling the company, due to the great competition, we didn't expect to be included on the list. This is an additional confirmation that our continuous investment in people, knowledge and product enables us to stand among the most successful European organisations,'' said Toni Frankola, the CEO of SysKit.

For more on Croatian companies, check out our business section.

March the 7th, 2023 - The Croatian DOK-ING continues to impress across the board, and the latest event they've performed excellently at is the German Enforce Tac fair.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian DOK-ING company reported last week that it has premiered its multi-functional machine, called the MV-3 Hystrix, intended for special, intervention, anti-explosion and anti-terrorist units of the police and military at the German Enforce Tac fair, which it believes will attract great interest.

According to the Croatian DOK-ING company customer manager Dina Isasegi, they came to that fair, which was held in Nuremberg from February the 28th to March the 1st, to present their newest robotic system to the ever-demanding global market.

"The MV-3 system is unique in the global sense and was created to bridge the identified gap in capabilities observed when performing counter-terrorist tasks of special forces. It is used in the tasks of combating terrorism and resolving high-risk crisis situations such as terrorist attacks, hostage crises, and the like," he said.

The Croatian DOK-ING company's impressive innovative system is primarily intended for solving crisis situations in closed spaces - such as in shopping centres, airports, concert and sports halls, he added.

According to Alenko Ribic, the former assistant for operational tasks of the Croatian Interior Ministry's special units, and who is now an external associate of DOK-ING, the MV-3 gives the tactical team the ability to use the system with or without the involvement of a physical team, which enables flexibility and a modular approach without the need to risk exposing special tactical teams to immediate danger.

If the machine goes out into a particularly risky area without a tactical team, it boasts the possibility to carry out research and reconnaissance with an advanced video system of 9 cameras and 2 LCD monitors. In addition to that, it can remove dangerous obstacles thanks to its additional tools, and it also has detectors for certain gases (for example, butane, propane, etc.).

The machine can carry another 700 kilograms of additional specialist equipment, such as formation protective ballistic shields, weapons and ammunition, ladders and more, according to the Croatian DOK-ING company's announcement.

Otherwise, DOK-ING produces robotic and autonomous systems and equipment for special purposes and has more than 80 percent market share in more than 40 countries around the world.

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

March the 2nd, 2023 - The Croatian Atlantic Group is no stranger to success and eye-watering figures when it comes to revenue, and it only expects that trend to continue. Another hope is for yet another record year.

As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian Atlantic Group (Grupa) ended last year with record revenues, and despite the expected less favourable economic conditions, the company expects to continue this trend this year as well. They expect to be able to mark up record sales totalling around 900 million euros.

According to the company's just published unaudited financial report, the Croatian Atlantic Group concluded 2022 with total revenues of 6.37 billion kuna, (850 million euros) which were 11.8% higher than they were back during the previous year.

Such optimism within the Croatian Atlantic Group is based on estimates that the prices of raw materials, packaging materials and energy sources should not reach record levels from back in 2022, but they still expect significant volatility. Negative pressures, on the other hand, will be alleviated by Croatia's entry into the Eurozone and the Schengen area which took place on the very first say of 2023.

In their unaudited financial report, the Croatian Atlantic Group estimates that purchase prices, regardless of stabilisation measures back at the end of 2022, are significantly above the level from the pre-crisis period, and based on this they expect a lower normalised EBITDA margin this year. They also note that in the first half of 2022, the impact of the increase in the price of raw materials and packaging material was significantly lower compared to the second part of the year, considering that Atlantic acquired a large part of the quantities they had at more favourable prices than the then market prices. That alone would result in a drop in profitability in the first part of 2023, primarily in the first quarter. On the other hand, they expect to see the beginning of the recovery of their profit margins in 2024.

This year, as can be seen from the report, management's focus, in addition to dealing with the problems of inflation and supply chains, will be on the internationalisation of certain brands and the development of the distribution business by strengthening existing and acquiring new principals, and on possible mergers and acquisitions.

The Croatian Atlantic Group closed the last business year with a net profit of almost 196 million kuna, at the same time, revenues grew by 11.8% on an annual basis, while profit was weaker by 43%, and according to the unaudited financial report, EBITDA was reduced by 20.6% compared to 2021, to 575.4 million kuna in total. The biggest impact on the drop in EBITDA was the high costs of raw materials, energy and logistics, the very negative impact of which exceeded sales growth across all Atlantic's business areas.

"Despite numerous challenges, the Croatian Atlantic Group achieved historically record sales results during 2022, and growth was achieved across all business and distribution areas. After the years dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, 2022 was marked by Russian aggression against Ukraine, which caused an energy crisis, additional disruptions in supply chains and significant price increases for almost all strategic raw materials and services.

We were only able to partially compensate for these price increases by optimising our internal resources and to a lesser extent by increasing our sales prices, which, as expected, led to a drop in profitability. Regardless of this, we continued with our investments in business development - innovations in our production portfolio, the modernisation of our production capacities and the continuation of the digital transformation,'' noted the President of the Management Board of the Croatian Atlantic Group, Emil Tedeschi.

For more, make sure to check out our business section.

March the 2nd, 2023 - The Croatian company Span has marked the year 2022 as its most successful business year to date, with the most growth for the company seen right here in Croatia and across the pond in the United States of America.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian company Span came out with its unaudited financial results for 2022 recently, and despite the current (and ongoing) challenging geopolitical and market circumstances, the year ended with growth across all key business indicators.

Span's revenues in 2022 amounted to an impressive 829.7 million kuna, which represents an increase of 8 percent when compared to pandemic-dominated 2021. EBITDA also increased by 48 percent and amounted to 72 million kuna at the end of 2022. EBITDA after non-recurring items increased in the observed period by 65 percent and amounted to 70.1 million kuna. The Croatian Span company's net profit at the end of 2022 therefore stood at a 50.7 million kuna, which is a very encouraging increase of 113 percent compared to 2021.

The highest growth in revenue within the Croatian company Span was achieved by services with high added value - mostly from the business area Software development and business solutions, which grew by 62 percent, and the area of Infrastructure services, Cloud and Cyber security, which achieved growth of 49 percent respectively in the observed period. The decrease in revenue in the Software Asset Management and Licensing segment results from a decrease in revenue over on the Ukraine market, where Microsoft provided Span's customers with free use of its products and services until the end of 2022. The decrease in revenue in that market was fully offset by revenue growth in other markets and in other segments business.

The share of revenues that the Croatian company Span achieved in foreign markets in 2022 amounted to 68 percent, with the markets of both Croatia and the USA recording the most significant growth of all.

"The circumstances that followed us in 2022 posed numerous challenges, but also created new business opportunities for us. It was a year in which we did everything to help our Ukrainian colleagues, but also a year in which we carried out some of the biggest projects in Span's history. The increased market demand presented us with the challenge of finding new experts, so during 2022, we hired as many as 228 new colleagues at Span and entered the new year as a team of more than 800 employees. Strategically, we remain focused on the growth of services with high added value with a focus on the areas of cloud and cyber security,'' emphasised Nikola Dujmovic, the company's founder and president of Span's Management Board.

Among the special events that marked the last quarter of 2022, the launch of the digital platform span.zone, which enables business users to manage existing licenses and cloud services, is worth noting. This was a tick in the box of achieving yet another of the company's strategic goals. The excellent business results achieved by the Croatian company Span after the IPO were also recognised by the European investment community. Span was included among the three best European small and medium-sized companies that entered the capital market, for which it was awarded the Rising Star award. For the second year in a row, Span also received HR Cloud's "Excellence in employee experience" award.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

March the 1st, 2023 - The Croatian company Infobip has been presenting its brand new technological solution, Call Link, at the largest technology fair - MWC Barcelona.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the remarkable Croatian company Infobip, the world's most well-connected cloud communication platform, has launched a new and innovative video calling customer support technology to enable businesses to resolve their queries faster and reduce waiting times. This brand new solution, called Call Link, was presented at the largest mobile technology fair MWC in Barcelona.

Infobip's Call Link is designed for the needs of companies with a large number of customer inquiries, such as telecommunications and utility companies, as well as electronic equipment manufacturers, and is the simplest way for agents to establish live voice or video calls with their customers.

When customer experience is critical to business success, companies need to quickly and efficiently resolve their customers' queries. According to the results of a survey conducted by CRM platform HubSpot, 90 percent of users believe that a response time of 10 minutes or less is extremely important when they have an inquiry. However, companies often fail to meet customer expectations and multiply their calls to several different agents, which increases the waiting time. Call Link eliminates all of these problems.

Using a simple web link, customer service or technical service agents can automatically transfer written chat inquiries to voice or video calls. The Call Link solution generates a unique link, thanks to which the user doesn't have to install additional applications, which then improves their overall experience.

Call Link, which is already available to interested companies, removes the need for lengthy interactions between agents and customers, allowing companies to connect with their customers anywhere, anytime. Agents can share the link through any available channel, including WhatsApp, SMS and email, either via computer or mobile. With users increasingly using apps like WhatsApp, this new solution reflects the Croatian company Infobip's broader strategy to help businesses connect with their customers through the channels they want, at the time(s) they want.

Infobip's new tech offers several applications for businesses that want to improve their overall customer experience, increase retention and reduce their operating costs. In addition, it enables real-time status determination, where users can explain their queries via video call and customer support agents can fix those highlighted problems instantly. Such remote support reduces overall costs and the environmental impact of in-person visits to the user.

"Thanks to the Call Link solution, agents of companies that want to improve the experience of their users can very quickly and efficiently eliminate difficulties and solve problems, and at the same time shorten waiting times, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction. In addition, since with the aforementioned solution they can generate as many video links as necessary, companies can smoothly increase their capacities and meet customer demand even during the busiest hours without difficulty. Based on information from clients who already use our product, we know that such synchronised communication helps them to process more user inquiries in a shorter time and thus not only increase productivity, but also achieve close communication with their end users, during which they will satisfy their needs in a practical and unobtrusive way,'' said Adrian Benic, Infobip's Chief Product Officer.

“Furthermore, Call Link provides businesses of various industries and sizes with affordable voice and video support that they wouldn't otherwise be able to use given the infrastructure requirements. This product is a testament to the Croatian company Infobip's unwavering commitment to being a complete multi-channel communication platform for everyone,'' concluded Benic.

For more, check out our dedicated news section.

February the 28th, 2023 - The Croatian AD Plastik company hasn't been immune to ongoing geopolitical issues causing havoc for the economy, and while figures of 826 million kuna for 2022 sound encouraging, it's a big step down when compared to 2021.

As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, according to all announcements, the crisis with the shortage of semiconductors is gradually coming to an end and it is expected that it should end by the end of this year, at least according to Marinko Dosen, the CEO of the Croatian AD Plastik company. Issues following sanctions against Russia owing to their horrific invasion of neighbouring Ukraine have caused issues for just about every company, and AD Plastik hasn't been immune.

The group's operating income fell by 26.6% compared to 2021, to 826 million kuna. Normalised EBITDA amounted to 0.94 million kuna and was also lower by a staggering 99.3%, and with the adjustment values included, the net loss at the group level amounts to almost 80 million kuna in total.

The Croatian AD Plastik company's problems go hand in hand with current geopolitical ones and war in Europe. It has two factories in Russia, which stopped production after their main customers left Russia after the beginning of the aggression against Ukraine in February 2022. In the meantime, production did manage to be established in one of them, but with very significantly reduced capacities.

Back in pandemic-dominated 2021, which wasn't either for most business either, 27% of a grand total of 1.23 billion kuna in revenue was generated in Russia, while in 2022, that share fell to around 14%, with revenue on the EU and Serbian markets falling to 14%, and in Russia - by 61%. The Croatian AD Plastik company therefore focused almost entirely on the European market, and 205 million euros worth of work was contracted in 2022, mostly for Stellantis, with the start of serial production for most of the contracts set for 2024.

The positive thing for the Croatian AD Plastik company's report is the associated company EAPS from nearby Romania, in which it holds 50 percent ownership, and which, thanks to the business it contracted with Dacia Duster, achieved an increase in revenue of 35% (standing at 725 million kuna) and profits of 150% (76 million kuna).

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

February the 28th, 2023 - Not everything is as bleak as it might seem at first glance. Did you know that Croatian ICT companies are attracting more and more attention from large international funds?

As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, according to the analysis published in Delo, neighbouring Slovenia is quite considerably lagging behind others in development, especially in the ICT sector, while Croatia has achieved great results and Ljubljana could learn a lot from it.

Last year, venture capital investments in Slovenia amounted to ''just'' 160 million, the lowest of all EU member states. From 2012 to 2021, all of them except Slovenia experienced growth in venture capital investment, and in that period Estonia, Finland and Denmark experienced the greatest boom of all at the EU level. In terms of the value of the share of venture capital investment in GDP, Slovenia is in a very unimpressive last place, according to an analysis of the ICT sector conducted for the Ljubljana Technology Forum by Grant Thornton.

The importance of this form of investment is extremely important for encouraging the rapid development of companies that have an innovative and promising product or technology, and that have difficulty getting capital to pass that most uncertain phase. Among all the newer EU member states, Estonia has become the most interesting country for venture capital investments in technology projects, and it ranks first in the entire EU in terms of the share of these investments in its GDP.

Last year, there were 1.3 billion euros of venture capital investments in start-up companies based in Estonia, and a total of 3.1 billion euros in the last five years. In the Czech Republic, the value of these investments in the five-year period stood at an impressive 1.5 billion, and when it comes to Croatian ICT companies and those from Lithuania, investments came to more than one billion euros, the same amount as in nearby Greece.

The Slovenians single out the Estonian example as the most successful of all, because immediately after the fall of communism, that country reached for the simplification and digitisation of its often complex administrative procedures, as well as a much more simple tax system with one rate, and they were the first to open the door to digital nomads, who can request a digital identity card and access e-services, and they've already attracted more than 50 thousand of them.

Croatian ICT companies and this country's business ecosystem has been on the radar of international venture capital funds and other financial giants for some time now, even if the headlines might make one easily believe otherwisw. The latest case of Damir Sabol's incredible Photomath being taken over by Google is just one fantastic example of how much the Croatian venture capital market has grown in the past decade.

At the same time, the neighbouring Slovenians state that a considerable number of Croatian ICT companies moved their headquarters abroad after receiving money from venture capital funds, but many, such as Rimac Automobil and Infobip, have remained firmly in Croatia. Among the advantages in the development of the startup system here in Croatia, there is, for example, the exemption from paying capital gains tax when selling shares in a startup and tax relief for angel investors, and a positive effect is also expected from a fund of 50 million euros to support innovations and startups announced by the Croatian Government.

Another significant thorn in the side of Slovenia is the fact that the share of expenditure on research and development has fallen sharply from 2012 to 2021, from 2.6 to 2.1 percent, while across the rest of the EU it has increased from 2.1 to 2. 3 percent. Slovenia also lags behind in patenting and the share of high-tech industries in its GDP. Part of the blame for this lies with privatisation, because in most former socialist countries, private foreign companies entered into industrial companies and brought new energy with them.

On the other hand, the justification that high salary taxes are the reason for avoiding venture capital investments is refuted by statistics, because for example France and Belgium, which have very high wage taxation rates, are more attractive for venture capital investments than the new EU member states from across Central and Eastern Europe, with the exception of Estonia.

Slovenia, on the other hand, looks at the Estonian example as a confirmation that the country's potential for innovation and its commercialisation can definitely be developed, but with the condition that all governments adhere to that same approach and consistently implement digitalisation, and they see Croatia and Greece as countries that are successfully following the Estonian model.

For more, make sure to check out our business section.

February the 23rd, 2023 - The Croatian Kanaan company has secured an agreement with no less than Costco, the second largest retail chain on the planet which pulls in eye-watering figures as revenue each year.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, snacks made by the Croatian Kanaan company from Donji Miholjac, one of the best European producers of quality snacks, will now also be found on the shelves of Costco, the second largest retail chain in the world, which generates enormous revenues of 227 billion US dollars a year.

The above information was confirmed for Lider by Zvonko Popovic, the so-called "Croatian king of crisps" and the owner and director of the Croatian Kanaan company, which holds the title of one of the best European producers of top quality snacks.

Popovic said that it is a great honour for his company to have entered Costco's stores. He also revealed that they currently have orders for Mexico, and by the end of the year they will make sales for the USA, South Korea, Australia and even for New Zealand.

Due to the current crisis and ongoing spiralling inflation, the Croatian Kanaan company has faced numerous challenges, from rising costs, disruptions in supply chains, the security of their energy procurement, issues with the procurement of packaging, and reduced quantity and quality of some basic raw materials due to bad climatic conditions.

"Unfortunately, the prices are much higher than they were in earlier periods. We're hoping for more stable conditions this year and for us to be able to maintain our prices,'' said Popovic for Lider.

Back in 2021, the Croatian Kanaan company generated impressive revenues in the amount of 22.65 million euros, and in 2022, their revenues grew by about 20 percent compared to the previous year, to an encouraging 27 million euros. More than half of their sales are exported to the markets of neighbouring Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia, and then to customers in France, Lithuania and Denmark. In total, they sold around 8,000 tonnes of various products in 2022, and their goal is to be close to that amount in 2023 as well.

Popovic revealed to Lider that in the future, they want to expand into higher category products, such as protein-added snacks and vegetable crisps, and maintain the quality of the their basic products; flips with peanuts, popcorn and crisps.

For more, make sure to follow our dedicated business section.

February the 21st, 2023 - The Virovitica IT company Factory is introducing totally free IT education once again, and anyone who wants to bump up their level of knowledge about certain aspects of IT can apply.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Josipa Ban writes, the Virovitica IT company Factory is launching the fourth programme of free education for IT so far. This time, participants will learn about backend development, and the entire programme is being conducted online, a statement from the company says.

As stated above, the programme is aimed at quite literally anyone who wants to upgrade their knowledge of backend development can apply to the Factory Academy to learn more. As the Virovitica IT company Factory has stated, all would-be participants need is motivation, a computer and a stable Internet connection. It's worth noting that this company is actually the only IT company in all of the Republic of Croatia that has the status of a strategic Pimcore partner.

The educational programme lasts for four weeks, and will be attended by four selected candidates who will have the support of a mentor the whole time. The number of participants, who can apply until March the 5th, 2023, is limited so that the mentors can provide them with the highest quality support, they explained.

"Over the years, we've come to realise that there are a lot of people who have reached a certain level of knowledge in the field of development and have as such found themselves facing a wall of sorts because they still don't have enough knowledge to get a job in the field. Through our academy, they will receive not only support, but proper direction,'' Marko Cuckovic from Factory pointed out.

Cuckovic also added that the company is very much open to hiring the best candidates as employees, and it's worth noting that the Virovitica IT company Factory has held three such academies in the past, and the average rating they received is a very impressive 4.9 out of 5.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

February the 20th, 2023 - The Croatian company DOK-ING has sent two robots to Ukraine's aid, seeing them handed over to the representatives of the Ukrainian State Administration for Emergency Sisutations by Marijo Grgurinovic, DOK-ING's main man.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the handover of two out of a total of eight robotic systems designed for humanitarian demining to war-torn Ukraine took place at the headquarters of the Croatian company DOK-ING company a few days ago. The president of the DOK-ING Management Board, Marijo Grgurinovic, personally partook in the exchange.

As explained in the company's press release, the robots were donated by an American donor, and senior representatives of the Directorate of Civil Protection and the Centre for Testing, Development and Training (CTRO) also took part in the handover to Ukrainian officials.

Neven Karas, coordinator for civil protection affairs of the Directorate of Civil Protection, pointed out that, unfortunately, the Republic of Croatia has had to endure a similar experience as what Ukraine is currently going through, but thanks to it, the country gained rich experience in mine action.

"As Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic pointed out at the last meeting with President Zelenski, an agreement on cooperation in the field of mine action between Ukraine and Croatia will be concluded, and one of the most important segments of this cooperation and assistance is precisely the delivery of our equipment and machines for humanitarian action. We've repeatedly pointed out that we have rich experience, we have knowledge and we have all of the proper resources,'' added Karas.

Marijo Grgurinovic stated that he is glad that the Croatian company DOK-ING has had trust placed in it and has once again been recognised as the world leader in demining robots, where it holds 80% of the global market.

"DOK-ING has sold its machines in about 40 countries around the world, and while we have world fame and attention, we're glad when we're visited in Zitnjak, where the very development and production of our robots takes place, where you can essentially see and feel the lifeblood of our innovation laboratory, and which is backed by top engineering experts", said Grgurinovic.

Alina Kozlova, a representative of SESU Ukraine, added that these robotic machines really do work to save human lives thanks to their remote controls and many multi-functionalities.

As a reminder, the Croatian company DOK-ING's robotic systems are used all over the world by armies, civil protection units, members of police forces, commercial operators and international non-governmental organisations in all kinds of demining operations.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.