Finstat: Profits in 2026 Down for 2nd Year Running, Salaries Outpaced Inflation

Bratislava, 18 April (TASR) - Slovak companies saw another weak year in 2025, with revenues virtually stagnating and profits falling for the second year in a row, according to an analysis of financial statements collected by the Finstat website. However, businesses continued to raise salaries, which outpaced both inflation and revenues. Even though total revenues exceeded €90 billion, they saw only a 0.1-percent increase year-on-year. Net profits fell by 1.1 percent to €4.8 billion, with the decline being less steep than in 2024, when companies recorded a 3.9-percent drop. At the same time, personnel costs, i.e. salaries, increased by 5.3 percent, thus surpassing the 4-percent inflation rate. However, salary growth was only partially due to higher earnings, as this figure also includes higher payroll taxes following changes in health-insurance rates in 2024. The results also varied across sectors. The services sector fared best, with revenues rising by 18.3 percent, followed by the education sector, with a 14.3-percent increase. Information technology also saw a strong year, with revenues up by 9.4 percent. Conversely, the energy and mining sector posted a significant drop, with revenues falling by nearly a quarter, followed by the engineering sector (down by 10.1 percent) and clothing and footwear (down by 8.5 percent), with the latter partly affected by the closure of the ECCO footwear manufacturing plant in Martin (Zilina region). Some large companies have also posted significant losses, such as Tatry Mountain Resorts (more than €58 million) and U.S. Steel Kosice (over €56 million). Conversely, the most profitable companies included SPP Infrastructure, with a net profit of €278 million, Finhold with more than €237 million, and Stredoslovenska energetika Holding with over €109 million. jrg/df/am