Platts Unveils Ninth Annual Rankings of Top 250 Global Energy Companies

SINGAPORE, Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2010 Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings™, unveiled this evening at a gala event in Singapore, highlighted the continued leadership of the major oil and gas companies, the rapid advance of the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and the resurgence of the global power sector.

The Platts 2010 rankings recognize the 2009 financial performance of publicly-held energy companies based on a combination of assets, revenues, profits and return on invested capital.

"Our 2010 rankings provide a relative picture of which regions and energy sectors proved most resilient to the cataclysmic financial events of the past couple years," said Larry Neal, president of Platts.  "While the major oil and gas companies held their own, companies in the emerging markets surged forward both in the overall rankings and on our list of the fastest growing."

Majors Still Dominate the Top 10

Despite an unprecedented drop in natural gas demand and the slump in oil prices, resulting in a more than one-third decline in 2009 profits, the integrated oil and gas (IOG) companies continued to dominate the ten top spots.  Houston-based Exxon Mobil Corporation reigned supreme at the top of the rankings for the sixth consecutive year, and despite being fifth in terms of asset value, came in second in terms of both revenues and profits.  U.K. major BP came in second improving its position from fourth in the prior year's rankings due to a strong performance in 2009 relative to its peers and ahead of any impact from its disastrous oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in April 2010.  BP's revenues in 2009 dropped by a third but its profits fell by only a little more than one-fifth.

Chevron Corporation and Royal Dutch Shell plc each saw their profits decline more than 50 percent which resulted in a drop in the rankings to ninth and tenth place from second and third, respectively.  France's Total SA remained at fifth place while German electric utility E.On AG, the only non-IOG company in the top 10 ranking but a sizeable gas producer, soared to sixth place from 45th place thanks to an extraordinary 600% jump in profits.

BRICs Move Up the Ranks

BRICs surged ahead with eleven companies in the global rankings' top 20 compared to just six the year before.  Moreover, while BRICs still account for four of the top 10 companies, all are rising in the ranks.  Russia's Gazprom Oao, jumped to third place from eighth last year and was also ranked as the world's most profitable listed energy company.  Brazil's Petrobras claimed fourth place from sixth in the previous year's global ranking.  PetroChina rose to seventh from ninth place, and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation jumped to #8 from 23rd place.

Platts also unveiled its annual list of the world's 50 fastest growing energy companies based on their three-year compound growth rate (CGR).  Again the BRICs were the stars, taking five of the top ten spots and a total of 22 places.  Brazil's Ultrapar Participacoes SA, a storage and transfer company that ranked 148 overall, jumped three places to take the lead with a three-year CGR of 96%.  Russia had two newcomers in the top ten fastest growing – RusHydro JSC which took second place with a three-year CGR of 77.8% and Moscow United Electric Power which came in sixth with 50% CGR.  Moving up to third from fifth place last year was independent power producer China Resources Power Holdings with a three-year CGR of 50.5% and joining the ranks of the fastest growing as well as the Top 250 list itself was Tata Power Company, India's largest integrated private power company, whose 39.7% three-year CGR put it 10th place.

Power Sector Experiences Revival

The power sector showed its resilience with companies in the utilities, independent power production and coal & combustibles sectors not only taking 37 out of the 50 fastest growing spots, but also comprising 150 of the companies on the Top 250 list.  Three power companies climbed more than 100 places in this year's rankings.  Scottish & Southern Energy jumped from 127th to 23rd place and Centrica plc moved up to 42nd place from 145th place last year while Constellation Energy Group leaped 154 spots to become #31 on the global list.  Although scoring well in terms of fastest growing companies, the coal and combustibles sector, unlike the other power sectors, declined relative to other segments in the rankings.

The Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings™, now in their ninth year, are developed using financial data from Capital IQ, a database compiled and maintained by Standard & Poor's, which, like Platts, is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies.  To be ranked, companies must have assets greater than US$3 billion and must be publicly listed.

Platts' 2010 performance rankings were unveiled today at the company's fifth annual Asia Leadership Awards and Recognition Dinner, held at Singapore's Marina Bay Sands in partnership with Singapore International Energy Week. The gala event, attended by more than 300 industry executives from across Asia, also celebrated the accomplishments of the top Asian energy companies within the Top 250.  For the second consecutive year, SolArc, Inc., a global provider of commodity supply, trading and risk management software and services, served as a sponsor.

An in-depth analysis of this year's rankings by Ross McCracken, editor of Platts' Energy Economist, is featured in the November issue of Platts' Insight magazine. For his commentary, complete rankings and more information, please go to the Platts Top 250 website or media kit in the Media Center of Platts.com.

About Platts: Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading global provider of energy and commodities information. With a century of business experience, Platts serves customers across more than 150 countries. An independent provider, Platts serves the oil, natural gas, electricity, emissions, nuclear power, coal, petrochemicals, shipping, and metals markets from 17 offices worldwide. Platts' real-time news, pricing, analytical services and conferences help markets operate with transparency and efficiency. Traders, risk managers, analysts, and industry leaders depend upon Platts to help them make better business decisions. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies: Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a global information and education company providing knowledge, insights and analysis in the financial, education and business information sectors through leading brands including Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2009 were $5.95 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.  

SOURCE Platts