While the stereotypical view of Spain is purely that of a holiday destination, a place where the locals down sangria, work in the hostelry industry and like to take a midday siesta, the reality is actually very different.
Spain’s industry is booming and, despite almost a decade of recession and economic crisis, Spain’s economy is one of the fastest growing in Europe.
In fact, some Spanish companies are multinational giants, their names recognized across the globe. Take for instance, Banco Santander, Telefónica and Repsol, to name just a few.
In 2013, a total of 28 Spanish companies featured on Forbes’s 2013 Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s largest companies.
Below is our guide to the biggest and most important companies in Spain, based on sales, profit and the number of employees.
Repsol S.A.
Repsol is a company well known to anyone interested in MotoGP, as together with Honda Racing Corporation they form a team that is one of the leading competitors of these motorbike racing championships. Aside from this, Repsol is one of the largest integrated global energy companies in the world, operating in all areas within the oil and gas industry. It carries out upstream and downstream activities all over the globe and also has divisions that are involved in exploration, production, refining, petrochemicals, power generation, distribution, marketing and trading. Repsol has some 27,000 employees across more than 40 countries, with just under 4,000 in Spain. The company’s sales in 2012 exceeded those in 2013, with figures of 24,920,240 euro and 23,723,548 euro respectively. Subsidiary companies include Repsol Petróleo, Repsol Butano, Repsol Química, Repsol Exploración, Petronor and CLH.
Compañía Española de Petróleos, S.A.U.
Spain’s second largest company in terms of sales in 2013 is another multinational oil and gas giant. More commonly known as CEPSA, this integrated energy company operates in a number of European countries as well as in Algeria, Canada, Colombia, Morocco, Brazil and Panama. It employs around 10,000 people, with just over 3,000 in Spain. Cepsa was set up in 1929 as Spain’s first private oil company and has been in the business for more than 80 years. It is now the second largest Spanish group for turnover, raking in sales of 23,400,809 euro in 2013 and 26,009,627 euro in 2012. The company’s main activities are petroleum and gas exploration and production, distribution and sale of crude oil derivatives, gas and electricity and petrochemicals.
Mercadona, S.A.
Well, if you didn’t know anything about the first two companies, the third company on the list of the biggest in Spain is definitely one that we are all familiar with, and possibly visit on a weekly basis. Mercadona is a 100% family-owned Spanish supermarket, which is actually based and originated in Valencia, not Madrid. Founder and President of Mercadona is Juan Roig, also one of the richest men in Europe. Mercadona has supermarkets in 48 provinces across the 17 autonomous regions of Spain, and more than 1,500 supermarkets in total. It supplies customers with fresh produce, including fish, meat, fruit and vegetables; drinks, chilled and frozen foods, toiletries, pet and cleaning products. Mercadona has the largest sales force, employing just over 74,000 staff. Sales increased in 2013 from the previous year, with totals of 18,033,983 euro and 17,522,881 euro.
Endesa Energía, S.A.U.
Endesa is the largest electricity utility company in Spain and the second operator in Portugal. It is actually a subsidiary company of Italy’s Enel since 2009, although it was formed in 1944 as Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, changing its name to Endesa in 1997. Endesa supplies around 10 million customers in Spain and has another 10 million worldwide. Its main business is in the generation, distribution and supply of electricity, focusing on Europe and Latin America, but it has other interests in the natural gas market and telecommunications sectors. Endesa prides itself on being a forward-thinking company that looks for intelligent ways in which to solve the world’s energy challenges. Some of its current projects are involved in biodiversity conservation, education, social initiatives and innovation. Endesa generated sales of 11,977,510 euro in 2013 and 11,934,823 euro in 2012.
Iberdrola Generación, S.A.U.
Well, it’s another energy and electricity company heading up the list of the top businesses in Spain in terms of sales generated in 2013. Now we know why our electricity bills are so expensive and continuously rising! If you live in Spain, you will also definitely be aware of Iberdrola. Although the company only generated sales of 11,686,971 euro in 2013, its EBITDA was 1,038,457 euro, one of the highest for a Spanish company. Iberdrola is based in Bilbao in the Basque Country, yet operates in dozens of countries over four continents. Its main subsidiaries are Scottish Power, Iberdrola USA and Elektro in Brazil. Due to its growth and expansion plan, Iberdrola is now the largest energy group in Spain, the world leader in wind energy and one of the largest global power companies. Compared to some of the other energy companies, Iberdrola is a fairly recent one, being created as late as 1992 due to the merging of Hidroeléctrica Española (1907) and Iberduero (1944).
Telefónica, S.A.
Telefónica is a major global telecommunications firm, one of the biggest in terms of market capitalization and number of customers. It is based in Madrid, yet has a strong presence in 21 countries across the globe, particularly in Spain, Europe and Latin America, but also operates in Asia and North America. It provides its customers with mobile, fixed, television and broadband networks and also trades as 02, Vivo and Movistar. The company was created in 1924 and went under the name of Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España (CTNE). Until the telecommunications opened up in Spain, Telefónica was the only telephone operator in the country, although it still remains dominant in the telecommunications market. In 2013, it generated sales of 11,003,000 euro, double the figures of the previous year, with 5,817,000 euro. The company’s earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortization last year totalled 10,590,000 euro.
El Corte Inglés, S.A.
If you’ve ever visited a major city in Spain, you will have come across El Corte Inglés. This group is a world leader in department stores and is Spain’s only remaining one. It is actually the biggest department store group in Europe and the fourth worldwide. The store is generally set out over several floors, with your usual departments that you would expect to find: perfume and make-up, womenswear, menswear, children’s wear, toys, sports equipment, food and restaurant etc. Here you will be able to buy many of the world’s most famous designer clothes and find them all in the same location. El Corte Inglés was established in 1940 and started out as a tailor’s shop. Since then the company has expanded and evolved according to the needs and tastes of the market, which is why it is still going strong today. The Group currently has other chains including Hipercor, Opencor, Supercor, Sfera, Viajes El Corte Inglés Óptica 2000, Bricor amongst others. More than 53,500 people are employed by the company and in 2013, sales reached 9,555,016 euro, almost 1 million less than the previous year at 10,464,026 euro.
Sociedad Estatal Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, S.A.
The Sociedad Estatal Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, S.A. is a public business organization that has more than 200 years of history since its creation. King Carlos III of Spain began the lottery in 1763 with one of the aims being to raise money for Madrid’s hospitals, hospices and other public works. Nevertheless, it was another half a century before the Lotería Nacional was officially created. Today, the group offers a variety of lottery games, such as La Primitiva, El Bonoloto, El Gordo de la Primitiva and la Quiniela; employs over 10,000 staff and uses the latest technology and lottery management systems so that the public can participate online.
Centros Comerciales Carrefour, S.A.
As with Mercadona and El Corte Inglés, we are all familiar with the Carrefour supermarket group. Centros Comerciales Carrefour, S.A. is a subsidiary of the French Carrefour and operates 173 hypermarkets, 162 Express supermarkets, 114 supermarkets, 118 service stations and 415 travel agencies. It is a leading outlet for fresh produce, frozen food, electrical goods, clothes, home appliances, furniture, sporting equipment and toiletries. In 2013, the company generated sales of 7,355,180 euro.
SEAT, S.A.
SEAT is a leading Spanish automobile manufacturer with its head office in Martorell, Catalonia. It was founded in 1950 by the National Institute of Industry, but today, it is currently forms part of the German Volkswagen Group and is the only Spanish car manufacturer that is able to develop its own cars in-house. Around 500,000 cars are produced a year, contributing to the fact that Spain is now the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Current models include the SEAT Mii, Ibiza, Toledo, León, Altea, Altea XL and Alhambra.
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