More than a quarter of all fast-growing companies in Slovenia come from manufacturing as one of the main engines of revenue and employment growth, according to a report from the Agency for Public Records (AJPES).

In the 2012-2016 period, fast-growing companies represented 4.9% of all business entities in Slovenia, which is a new record. Their number was up by 745 or 0.7 percentage points compared to the previous five-year period.

Fast-growing companies employed more than half of all employees in the country, or 117,407 people and generated EUR 20.8bn in net sales revenues last year.

Almost 1,700 or 27.6% of all fast-growing companies came from manufacturing, in which 47% of all employees were employed last year. Fast-growing companies in this industry generated EUR 8.7bn in sales revenues last year.

Manufacturing was followed by trade, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles with 1,386 or 22.54% of all fast-growing companies.

According to AJPES, fast-growing companies created 38,672 new jobs and increased sales revenues by EUR 2.5bn in the 2012-2016 period.

The driving force for growth and employment are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which represent almost 70% of all fast-growing companies, with their share increasing by 23 points compared to the previous five-year period.

In the 2012-2016 period, SMEs increased the number of jobs by 76% (24,670 new jobs), while their sales revenues were up by EUR 3.7bn or 61%.