The Odorhei area's economy: stable revenue, declining profit and nearly two thousand fewer jobs

The company rankings from 2017 to 2025 reveal what happened to the region's revenues, profits and jobs.

These trends do not affect entrepreneurs alone. They influence the number of jobs, wages, local consumption, municipal revenues and the long-term outlook the Odorhei area can offer to the people who live there.

The Odorhei area economy in 2025

The dataset analysed covered 4,053 companies from the Odorhei area in 2025. Together, they recorded:

•  RON 8.34 billion in revenue ;

•  RON 616.6 million in profit ;

•  19,170 employees .

The revenue TOP 50 companies generated RON 4.37 billion, or 52.39% of the region's total revenue. The first 50 companies in the profit ranking accounted for 44.40% of total profit, while the largest employers represented 34.83% of all employees.

This shows that the Odorhei area economy is not built exclusively on a few very large companies. The top fifty firms are highly significant, but small and medium-sized enterprises provide almost two thirds of employment and a substantial share of the region's economic performance.

Revenue held up, but profit and employment declined

Between 2022 and 2025, the combined revenue of all companies in the region increased from RON 8.18 billion to RON 8.34 billion. This is a nominal increase of around 1.9%, meaning that revenue was essentially flat.

Because these values are expressed in current lei, an almost unchanged revenue level does not necessarily mean unchanged economic performance: due to inflation, the same amount may reflect fewer products or services.

Profit developed far less favourably. The total profit of companies in the Odorhei area was:

•  RON 844.5 million in 2022 ;

•  RON 740.3 million in 2023 ;

•  RON 643 million in 2024 ;

•  RON 616.6 million in 2025 .

That amounts to a 27% decline in profit over three years. Companies therefore managed to maintain broadly similar revenue while retaining much less profit. Behind this may lie higher operating, energy, raw material, wage or financing costs, although separating these factors precisely would require additional company-level data.

Employment also declined. Companies in the region reported 21,159 employees in 2022, but only 19,170 in 2025. That is a reduction equivalent to 1,989 jobs, or 9.4%.

The largest companies saw an even sharper drop in headcount

Comparing the standalone annual TOP 50 rankings, between 2022 and 2025:

•  the combined performance of the revenue TOP 50 fell by 1.6%;

•  the total profit of the profit TOP 50 fell by 22.6%;

•  the headcount of the fifty largest employers declined by 14.7%.

The largest employers still had 7,826 employees in 2022, but only 6,676 in 2025. In other words, more than half of the region's total employment decline was concentrated within the TOP 50 company group.

At the same time, the TOP 50 share of total employment fell from 36.99% to 34.83%. This suggests that, overall, smaller firms were better at retaining jobs than the largest companies.

Revenue grew over eight years, but jobs became fewer

The longer historical series shows the transformation of the economy even more clearly.

The combined revenue of the revenue TOP 50 stood at RON 2.59 billion in 2017 and reached RON 4.37 billion by 2025. This represents a nominal increase of nearly 69%.

TOP 50 profit more than doubled over the same period, yet compared with the peak of RON 402 million reached in 2021, it had fallen by nearly 32% by 2025.

Employment moved in the opposite direction: the fifty largest employers had 8,125 employees in 2017, but only 6,676 in 2025. That is a decline of 17.8% over eight years.

The economy is therefore generating much more nominal revenue than it did eight years ago, but with fewer jobs attached to it. This may partly indicate technological progress and higher productivity, but it can also point to labour shortages, outsourcing, automation or the retreat of more labour-intensive activities.

Which industries underpin the Odorhei area's economic strength?

When the companies in the 2025 revenue TOP 50 are grouped by their primary activity, two major economic pillars stand out.

Companies linked to construction, building services and building materials generate 29.2% of TOP 50 revenue. Firms in the food and beverage sector account for 26.5%.

Together, these two industry groups represent more than half of the total revenue of the revenue TOP 50.

Other important fields are:

•  the vehicle market and automotive industry: 12%;

•  printing, packaging and creative production: 8.7%;

•  metalworking and machinery: 7.9%;

•  textile and light industry: 7.3%;

•  wood and furniture industry: 4.9%.

Overall, the industry structure is diversified. This is an advantage because the region does not depend on a single branch of the economy. At the same time, the high weight of construction and commercial activities can make the economy more sensitive to changes in investment, consumption and borrowing.

Between 2020 and 2025, the share of construction and building-services companies fell from 32.4% to 29.2%, while the share of the vehicle market and automotive industry rose from 9.2% to 12%. The food and beverage sector, by contrast, remained relatively stable between 25% and 27%.

Which companies defined 2025?

Both the revenue ranking and the employment ranking were led by AMIGO & INTERCOST SRL, with revenue of RON 556.9 million and 632 employees.

Other companies at the top of the revenue ranking included:

•  MELINDA IMPEX INSTAL SRL, with RON 400.1 million;

•  MELINDA IMPEX STEEL SRL, with RON 273.4 million;

•  ELAN TRIO SRL, with RON 232.6 million;

•  COATS ROMANIA SRL, with RON 213 million.

The highest profit was recorded by VIADUCT SRL, with RON 23.4 million, followed by GORDON PROD SRL and EURO ECOLOGIC SRL.

Different stories lie behind the movements of individual companies. HINODE CAR EXPERT increased its revenue by more than 50% compared with 2024, while OFFROADTECH grew by 69%. By contrast, the revenues of MELINDA IMPEX STEEL and ELAN TRIO both declined by almost RON 58 million.

The profit ranking is far more volatile than the revenue or employment rankings. In 2025, eighteen companies changed within the profit TOP 50 compared with the previous year, while the revenue ranking saw seven new entrants and the employer ranking five. In other words, profitability changes far more quickly from year to year than company size or employment weight.

The threshold for entering the TOP 50 became lower

In 2022, at least RON 26.3 million in revenue was needed to enter the revenue TOP 50. By 2025, RON 23.9 million was enough.

Over the same period, the entry threshold for the profit ranking fell from RON 2.92 million to RON 2.15 million, while the lower limit of the employer TOP 50 dropped from 61 to 50 employees.

This indicates that the layer of medium-sized companies behind the largest firms has also come under pressure. Despite a slight improvement in 2025, the entry thresholds still had not returned to their 2022 levels.

Solid foundations, but mounting pressure

The Odorhei area still has a significant and diversified business base. Yet the main challenge is clear: almost unchanged revenue is now accompanied by lower profit and fewer jobs.

One of the most important questions for the coming years will be whether companies in the region can once again turn revenue stability into profitable, job-creating growth.

The detailed 2025 company rankings can also be viewed separately:

•  Largest companies in the Odorhei area by revenue – TOP 50

•  Largest employers in the Odorhei area – TOP 50

•  Most profitable companies in the Odorhei area – TOP 50

The next parts of the series presenting the economic regions of Szeklerland are: Lower Three Seats, Ciuc, Gheorgheni, Upper Three Seats, Mureș and Szeklerland.