#8 ForPeople - 60,000

On the eight spot in Wall-Street list is ForPeople trainer that reported revenues of €60,000 in the three-month period into March 2010, down 40% from year-ago quarter.

“Surprisingly, our first-quarter 2009 turnover has been very good, of more than €100,000. But unfortunately, the period after has been really poor, that didn’t allow us to grow as we planned. We had no idea what an economic crisis was about or the extent of the damage it would cause. In 2010, we had more realistic expectations and hence managed to achieve our goals”, said Marius Balasoiu, general manager of ForPeople.

For 2010, Balasoiu forecasts revenues of €400,000, with the biggest growth rate in second and fourth quarter.

The trainer posted annual revenues of €300,000 in 2008 and profit of €68,000.

#7 TMI - 185,000

Rated as the third largest training company in the past years, with revenues of €2.1 million, TMI posted a turnover of mere €185,000 in first quarter 2010, same as a year earlier.

TMI Romania lost €900,000 in one year, from €2.1 million in 2008 to near €1.2 million in 2009, according to Octavian Pantis (photo), managing director of TMI.

For end-2010, TMI expects to break even, namely around €1.2 million.


#6 Trend Consult - 210,000

On the sixth spot is Trend Consult with a first-quarter revenue of €210,000, almost at the same level as in Q1 2008, before the onset of the financial crisis. Compared to the year-ago period, Trend Consult revenues rose 30%.

Even though the beginning of the year was and it still is very challenging at least until our customers’ business direction becomes clear, we anticipate a pickup in training sessions demand, with order backlog accumulated due to the stagnation of the market in the past two years. We believe that we’ll see a flurry of activity in the last two quarters of 2010 compared to the same period of 2008”, said Adrian Florea, managing partner Trend Consult.

The company predicts a year-on-year increase in revenues of 30% from €960,000 in 2009.

“In 2010, the customization level of training programs will improve. We’ll see more and more tailor-made programs that will be far removed from the standard format”, said Florea.

The companies that earmarked the most in training in 2010 have been those in banking, IT&C sectors and industry, according to Trend Consult.

In February this year, Trend Consult opened in Poland its second office outside Romanian borders. The investment for opening the subsidiary stood at €150,000. Trend Consult holds 70% shares in the overseas office, and the remaining 30% shares are held by a local partner. In 2008, the company made its first move abroad, when it opened an office in Austria that represented an investment of €300,000.

#5 Interact - 220,000

With a turnover of €182,000 in the first quarter 2009, Interact Communication recorded 18% growth this year, to €220,000. Interact posted annual revenues of €0.85 million in 2009, down 40% year-on-year.

“I expect the market to remain at 2009 level, or increase modestly at the end of the year, in the best-case scenario”, said Lucian Mihai (photo), managing partner Interact.

Unlike other staff training companies in Romania, Interact doesn’t have offices at a national level, but a rented head office in Bucharest. At the beginning of 2009, the company renegotiated the leasing terms and contracts with certain providers.

In 2008, Interact recorded revenues of around €1.4 million, and grabbed the fifth spot in top largest training companies.

#4 Human Invest - 228,000

Human Invest posted first-quarter revenues of €228,000, up 250% from year-ago period.

“The auctions won at the end of 2009 as well as the new contracts signed early this year, have ensured a healthy cash flow for 2010. Looking ahead at the performance of the staff training industry, Human Invest has assumed three financial scenarios, with the most realistic envisaging a turnover of €1.5 million and profit margin of 15%”, said Viorel Panaite (photo), Human Invest partner.

Leadership, soft skills and time management programs have been the growth drivers in 2009.

#3 UBD - 230,000

With revenues of €1.7 million in 2008, and €230,000 in first quarter this year, UBD takes the third spot in Wall-Street’s list.

The first-quarter turnover is near year-ago level, but Diana Rosteka (photo), general manager UBD predicts revenues of €1.6 million for 2010, around €200,000 higher than 2009.

Compared to 2008, before the onset of the financial crisis, companies’ earmarks in staff training are to remain low, even though companies in FMCG, telecom and banking industries have decided to invest in programs for organizational development, UBD manager said.

#2 Codecs - 500,000

After a year of turmoil that brought management changes and layoffs in Codecs, one of the largest staff training companies in Romania with revenues estimated at €3-3.5 million in 2009, reported first-quarter revenues of €500,000.

“We haven’t calculated exactly the turnover, but we expect half million euro in first quarter. We are recording a contraction in Q1 numbers, because only now, the effects of the financial crisis are visible in the market”, said Adrian Babutan, chief executive of Codecs.

The decline in Codecs 2009 revenues reflected the industry’s poor performance in the first year of crisis, that dropped from €1.95 million to €1.6 million. Furthermore, mid last year, the company had to collect €0.6 million from clients, and to pay €0.7 million to suppliers.

Codecs CEO expects revenues to stay below €2.5 million this year, down €2 mn from 2008 when the company was the largest staff training company with revenues of €4.7 million.

#1 Ascendis - 610,000

Ascendis nudged Codecs from the top spot in first quarter, with total revenues of €610,000.

“For the first quarter, our turnover grew 10% from the same period of 2009. In the training industry, the first and third quarter are poor and second and fourth – better. This is the cyclicality of our business”, said Andrei Gosu (photo), chief executive of the company.

For this year, the trainer anticipates 10% increase in turnover year-on-year.

“We’re witnessing a recovery whose amplitude will largely depend on the AMPOSDRU fund absorption” said Gosu.