UK companies outperform European neighbours
The UK's largest companies are continuing to outperform their European competition, with the greatest successes going to those investing more in research and development (R&D) or new equipment, according to a newly published report. The UK Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) '2007 Value Added Scoreboard' shows that the UK has more companies (26%) of total 'value added' among the 750 European companies listed, compared to Germany and France with less than 19%. 'Value added' is defined as the difference between sales and the cost of bought-in materials, components and services. It uses value added per GBP1 of staff and depreciation costs, or 'wealth creation efficiency', as a key performance measure. 'The UK is home to some of the world's best companies and it's a good place to do business. As the recent Budget shows, the Government is backing business and helping the UK to stay on top,' said Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. 'Of course, innovation is key to business success. That's why we're enhancing R&D funding for business, raising skills and improving access to world markets for UK-based companies,' he added. In terms of the overall wealth created by the companies listed for each country, the UK again tops the table with a total of €440.8 billion. German businesses in the top 750 generated a net €323.8 billion, while French companies contributed €323.1 billion. There is a steep drop off to the next country in the list, Switzerland, with €102.4 billion, while completing the top ten are Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Belgium and Russia. Over 85% of the total 'value added' in the list of companies is accounted for by firms from these top ten countries. Alone, the UK, Germany and France account for more than two-thirds of overall value added, the scoreboard reveals. Of the top ten companies in the list, four are based in Germany (Siemens, DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Telekom, and Volkswagen), two in France (Total and France Telecom) and one in Italy (ENI).
Countries
United Kingdom