Denmark outshines in global growth

A flexible Danish labour market and companies which are good at holding their own in the global elimination race are helping to lift growth in the Danish companies up over their international competitors, according to a recent article in Copenhagen Capacity.

The companies in the Danish top-1000 increased their turnover in 2006 by 12.8 per cent to approximately DKK 2600 billion whereas the world’s 500 largest companies had a growth rate of sales of 10.4 per cent.

“There is no doubt that Danish companies are very much aware of the global elimination race in which the size really makes a difference for our success. I think that Danish companies are generally very good at internationalisation and participation in the global race. That may also be one of the reasons why so much is going on with regards to the establishment of businesses and acquisitions abroad,” says general manager Jørgen Lindegaard of ISS.

A.P. Møller-Mærsk made significant acquisitions in 2005 – investments which appear for the first time in the 2006 figures. The oil and shipping group among other things acquired the Dutch-British shipping company P&O Nedlloyd and American Kerr-McGee’s oil activities in the North Sea whereas the subsidiary APM Terminal also invested heavily in ports in the entire world.

Danish companies also profit from a great demand on the home market and from the closest export countries.

“The Nordic economies have been among the most rapidly growing in Europe during the last few years. The companies concentrating on the Nordic countries have been favoured by some strong home markets. This has impacted their turnover positively,” says analysis manager Niels Leth from the investment bank SEB Enskilda.