Annual Industry Report 2023
2022 proved to be a challenging year marked by various difficulties and obstacles. Some of these challenges are persistent, carrying forward from previous years. Still, the companies operating in the Knowledge Industry not only proved yet again their resilience but seized the opportunities in these challenges!
The high-tech industry in Bulgaria
overview of the segmentation of companies along with the key trends
The report analyses 802 Bulgarian companies operating in business process sourcing (BPO), information technology sourcing (ITO) and research and development (R&D).
Corporate investment activity on the Bulgarian sourcing scene remained robust, despite the slight cooling down of the sector's expansion after the records set in 2021. Several of the bigger players in the ecosystem changed ownership and operate under new names, while the most positive trend continues to be the opening of global R&D centres in Bulgaria by tech companies previously not present in the country.
Sofia is hosting the headquarters of 81% of the vendors active in 2022. Plovdiv, followed by Varna, is the second most important location, primarily due to its thriving ITO segment. Emerging locations with significant potential to become sourcing hotspots include Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse, and Stara Zagora.
The sector as an employer
a total of 104,690 full-time employees (FTEs)
BPO remained the largest employer in the sector at the segment level, comprising 60% of the total FTEs, followed by ITO with a 28% share and R&D with 12%.
Among BPO's sub-segments, VBPO led with 23,793 employees, surpassing SSCs with 13,175 and Other BPO with a headcount of 11,291.
Among BPO's sub-segments, VBPO led with 23,793 employees, surpassing SSCs with 13,175 and Other BPO with a headcount of 11,291.
The sector's financial results in 2022
slowdown compared to 2021
- EUR 577.5 mlnaggregate net profit
- EUR 71.2 mlntaxes paid
- 16.8%increase in the operating revenue in 2022
The shift to a percentage of 22.7% in 2021 reflects the normalization of the sector's turnover expansion subsequent to the robust recovery experienced in the same year. - 5.8%of the country's 2022 GDP in current prices
If its mid-term growth rate persists, by 2025 sourcing companies are expected to have an aggregate turnover equal
to 9.2% of the national GDP. - 11.7%net profit margin
This is the highest value in the analysed period, surpassing the previous year's 11.2%. - 25.9%increase in the labour costs for sourcing companies
This equals a total of EUR 3.004 bln.
The report
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