Oil and gas extraction remain the dominant industry

Public non-financial corporations achieved some NOK 345 billion in operating profit in 2018. This accounted for 26 per cent of the operating Income. The corresponding figure for 2017 was NOK 280 billion and 24 per cent, respectively, according to updated figures from Public corporations, accounts.

The operating profit before tax in 2018 was NOK 513 billion. This is about 39 per cent of the operating income. The corresponding figures for 2017 were NOK 439 billion and 38 per cent respectively.

The increase in the profit is mainly the result of mining and quarrying. These industries contributed some NOK 280 billion. The industry is dominated by State's Direct Financial Interest 1 (SDFI) and Equinor ASA. SDFI achieved operating profit of NOK 116 billion. 

The electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply were the second largest industry in 2018 and had a total of NOK 41 billion operating profit. 

The information and communication industry achieved an operating profit of NOK 8 billion in 2018. In the transportation and storage industries the operating profit was NOK 4 billion. The major corporations in this industry include Telenor ASA, Posten Norge AS and The Norwegian State Railways (Vy). 

Major operating profit in central government corporations

While the operating profit in the central government corporations was almost NOK 201 billion, the central government quasi-corporations realised a total operating profit of almost NOK 116 billion. The central government corporations and the central government quasi-corporations accounted for about 90 per cent of the total operating profit. 

The operating profit of the local government-owned enterprises was almost NOK 28 billion in 2018. 

Increase in asset value

The value of public non-financial corporations’ total assets was around NOK 3 520 billion at the end of 2018. This was an increase of about NOK 116 billion from the previous year. The value of the fixed assets increased by 3.1 per cent, while the value of the current assets increased by 4.5 per cent. 

However, most of the capital is located within a small number of companies. Approximately 50 corporations contributed more than three quarters of the total assets. Each of these corporations has an asset value of more than NOK 8 billion. Fifteen of these capital-intensive enterprises are owned by local government and these are mostly in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply industry.

The financial situation

The public non-financial corporations had a relatively stable financial structure in the period 2013 to 2018. The equity ratio in 2018 was about 49 per cent. 

Furthermore, the ratio of fixed assets to long-term capital has been relatively stable at around 1. Nevertheless, it had a slight decrease in the period 2016-2018. The fixed assets had mainly been financed by long-term capital. 

The current ratio increased from 0.89 in 2017 to 0.93 in 2018. This means the current asset still is less than the current liabilities. The figures do not necessarily illustrate the enterprises’ liquidity and therefore require careful consideration. 

Central government quasi-corporations have been excluded here because the equity in these corporations cannot be compared with other public corporations