Inside the booming value of SA’s top companies
The combined value of South Australia’s top 100 public and private companies has surged this year, but one top dog is under fire for tax reasons.
InDaily will unveil the top 100 public and private companies on Friday at a lunch attended by the state’s top movers and shakers.
The event’s data partner HLB Mann Judd has been busy scrutinising the top end to reveal how much the total value of the South Australian Business Index has grown in the past year.
While that figure stays under wraps until Friday afternoon, InDaily can reveal that the value of just the top ten companies in the index this year has reached a whopping $51.24 billion.
This is more than twice as much as the other 90 businesses combined and is largely attributable to oil and gas company Santos’ perennial leadership of the index. While the index captured the business’s market capitalisation at June 30, Santos is now worth $28.48 billion.
Interestingly, the company paid $0 in company tax this year – the 11th year in a row – according to recent Australian Tax Office data.
It is a fact that has attracted derision, with Australian Unions saying it means the “system is broken” while think tank The Australia Institute said big gas was “taking the piss”.
“Every Australian should be furious that they are getting nothing in return for the sale of their resources,” Australia Institute chief economist Greg Jericho said.
“How on earth can a company like Santos sell nearly $52 billion worth of Australian gas yet, for an 11th year in a row, pay not a single cent in corporate tax?”
Back to the index… here are some other facts to satiate your appetite before Friday’s reveal:
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- 12 businesses are worth more than $1 billion and 27 are worth more than $500 million
- A business needs a valuation of about $48 million to make the list
- There are 14 new entrants this year
- More businesses fell than rose
And there is just one new face in the top 10, proving the staying power of our leading South Australian companies.
Construction and engineering has more businesses in the index than any other industry, while mining, oil and gas make up more than a third of the index’s value.
All will be revealed on Friday at the South Australian Business Index Luncheon.
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