According to the Fortune 500 Turkey 2023 research ranking Turkey's largest 500 companies, net profit of companies increased 77.2% year-on-year to TRY 965.8 billion in 2023. The results of the Fortune 500 Turkey 2023 research, conducted in cooperation with Fortune Turkey and CRIF Turkey, showed that companies were able to significantly increase their net profits despite changing economic policies and global geopolitical risks. The total net profit of Fortune 500 Turkey 2023 companies increased 77.2% compared to 2022, rising to TRY 965.8 billion and approaching the TRY 1 trillion threshold. In the research, where the main operating profit margin decreased 1.71 points year-on-year, other income and expense balance increased 3.11 points and financing expenses rose 1.67 points. The pre-tax profit margin of companies decreased 0.27 points compared to the previous year, while the net profit margin rose to 7.53%. Thus, in 2023 the lowest main operating profit margin of the last 5 years was realized while the highest net profit margin was achieved. According to the Fortune 500 Turkey 2023 research, the implementation of inflation accounting led to a differentiated balance sheet structure. Total net sales of the 500 companies increased 60.6% compared to 2022, reaching TRY 12.828 trillion. Total net sales of companies preparing financial statements under IFRS increased 3.61% in real terms. While total net sales of companies not preparing under IFRS increased 33.53% in nominal terms, a 7.41% contraction was seen in real terms when the Producer Price Index was taken into account.

Top three rankings unchanged on the list

In the Fortune 500 Turkey 2023 research, based on net sales figures, Energy Markets Operating Company Inc. (EPİAŞ) ranked first again with TRY 839 billion in sales revenue. Turkey Petroleum Refineries Inc. (Tüpraş) came second with TRY 686 billion in sales revenue, followed by Turkish Airlines (THY) with TRY 504 billion in net sales revenue. The top 10 of the list included Ahlatcı Kuyumculuk Sanayi ve Ticaret, Ford Otomotiv Sanayi, Petrol Ofisi, BİM Birleşik Mağazalar, Opet, Arçelik and Shell&Turcas Petrol AŞ respectively.

Net sales revenue of 24 companies exceeded TRY 100 billion

Among companies on the Fortune 500 Turkey 2023 list, there was significant growth in the number of companies with net sales revenue exceeding TRY 10 billion. This number increased 80 units year-on-year to 218 in 2023. The number of companies with net sales exceeding TRY 25 billion rose to 85 with an increase of 26 units, while the number of companies with net sales revenue exceeding TRY 50 billion reached 43. The number of companies with net sales revenue exceeding TRY 100 billion reached 24. The entry threshold for the Fortune 500 Turkey list also increased. The revenue lower limit rose 62.7% compared to 2022 to TRY 3.621 billion. The research noted that the annual increase in this lower limit was an indicator that companies were reaching significant scales and could increase their impact in the global competitive system with these sizes.  

Exports rose to TRY 3.118 trillion

The research noted that the weakening of global trade had an impact on the total exports of Fortune 500 Turkey companies. Total exports of these companies increased 46.4% in TL terms compared to 2022, rising to TRY 3.118 trillion. In dollar terms, it was seen that Fortune 500 companies' total exports showed weak performance of 2.1% in 2023.

Listed companies reached record levels

The number of listed companies on the Fortune 500 Turkey list increased year-on-year, also influenced by IPOs that took place last year. In addition to the increasing number of domestic investors, the financing opportunities offered by capital markets increased companies' interest in capital markets. With the effect of realized IPOs, the number of Borsa Istanbul-listed companies on the Fortune 500 Turkey company ranking increased to 138 in 2023. With this figure, the highest number of Borsa Istanbul companies since 2007, the first year of the Fortune 500 Turkey research, was reached. Despite significant improvements and increases in profitability, employment of companies on the Fortune 500 Turkey list rose to 1 million 391 thousand in 2023 with a limited increase of 1.1%.