Finland's Nokia, world's biggest mobile phone producer, withannual sales of above 50bn euros, has quietly reached half abillion euro turnover in Romania, becoming thus one of Romania's 40largest companies, ahead of companies such as E.ON, Posta Romana(Romanian Post Office) or Holcim.
The company's turnover climbed from 6.6m euros in 2007 to 455.6meuros in 2008 after the opening, in February 2008, of a mobilephone plant in Jucu commune of Cluj county, in the wake ofinvestments worth 60m euros.
Nokia's half a billion-euro turnover comes from the assembly andexport of mobile phones, which are mostly going to other Europeancountries. Parts are imported from Hungary, China or Mexico andthen assembled by the around 1,600 employees of the plant. Withless than 2,000 employees and half a billion-euro turnover, NokiaRomania is one of the most productive companies domestically.
The high productivity per employee is also made possible by thecomplexity and rising value of mobile phones assembled in Cluj.
The first mobile phone assembled in Cluj was one of the simpleston offer, namely a Nokia 1200 with a black and white screen, but afew months later the Cluj plant was already manufacturing mobilephones five times more expensive, such as Nokia 6300.
The mobile phone industry is as a matter of fact one of the fewthat can allow for such turnover growth for a 60m-euro greenfieldinvestment involving less than 2,000 employees.
Andreea Mladin, an analyst with Capital Partners investmentfirm, says, though, that the value of turnover does not come as asurprise. "Practically, it's now that the true value of Nokiainvestments can be seen and the volume at which the companydesigned the unit of Cluj. As phones assembled here become evermore complex, Nokia turnover is likely to grow ever more," Mladinsaid.
Nokia Romania was valued at 169m euros, according to the "Top100 Most Valuable companies in Romania" yearbook compiled by ZF andCapital Partners.
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