BME Growth companies increase their turnover by 29% and their staff by 34% in 2021

• Companies listed on the SME Growth market increase their sales by 41.4% compared to their pre-pandemic levels in 2019
• A total of 43 companies from this BME Growth market participate in the Medcap Forum, which today celebrates its second session

The companies listed on BME Growth have overcome the pandemic, as their year-end 2021 financial data bear out. These companies are cementing their position as key players in the Spanish economy and their turnover, EBITDA and number of employees are evolving very favourably.

In part, this positive trend is due to the fact that this BME market is mainly made up of companies from the most innovative sectors. In fact, if we compare the year-on-year increase posted by companies in the growth segment only - which excludes the real estate sector - this amounts to 46.1% in turnover, 32.5% in EBITDA and 37.1% in the number of employees.

According to public financial information, at the end of 2021 BME Growth companies increased their turnover by 28.9% as a whole, to 3,636 million euros, bringing their compound growth over the last 5 years to 26.6%.

These companies have also demonstrated high profitability, posting an aggregate EBITDA margin in 2021 of 965 million euros, up 19.8% year-on-year. These data support the upward trend between 2016 and 2021, as compound annual growth in this section was 22.1%.

In addition, BME Growth companies have contributed significantly to employment growth. Compound annual growth has stood at 26.2% since 2016, including the pandemic period. In 2021, the total number of employees working for these companies stood at 21,921 workers, 34% more than in the previous year.

 

This trend is even more remarkable if we place it within the context of the Spanish SMEs in the period between 2013 and 2020. According to data published by the Bank of Spain, during that period, the compound annual growth of these companies as a whole was negative in terms of turnover, EBITDA and employees. In contrast, in the case of BME Growth companies as a whole, the same metrics for the same period show compound annual growth of 25.4%, 16.4% and 27.8%.

The visibility and reputation that come with being listed are a boost for BME Growth companies, 43 of which are participating in the 18th edition of the Medcap Forum, today in its second session. In this event, the companies have one to ones and Discovery meetings with over 150 investors attending the Forum, of which 20% come from outside Spain. Today's programme features three panels about expectations and solutions for an efficient ESG strategy for companies and investors (at 10 am), fixed income issuance as an ally for corporate financing (at 12:30 pm) and the challenge of the energy transition for companies (at 4 pm).