Distrigaz Sud, one of the main natural gas supplying companies in Romania, posted 3.65 billion RON (992.4 million euro) turnover last year, an increase of 13.6% compared with 2007.
The company is therefore getting close to joining quite an exclusive club of companies operating on the domestic market whose business exceeds one billion euros. Most of these companies operate in the energy sector, such as Petrom, the biggest in Romania, Rompetrol Rafinare and Lukoil Romania.
Distrigaz Sud has been recently rebranded as GDF SUEZ Energy Romania. The name change was done to highlight its being part of the French-Belgian group GDF-SUEZ, established by the merger of Gaz de France and SUEZ in July 2008. Gaz de France became Distrigaz Sud's majority shareholder in 2005, after the privatisation of the former state-owned company.
Another change was made this year, when a new chief executive was appointed.
At the beginning of April, Yvonnick David, deputy chief executive of Distrigaz Sud Retele, took the reins of GDF Suez Energy Romania. He replaced Bernard Arnaud, who had run Distrigaz Sud since May 2005, after the privatisation of the company. The two companies, Distrigaz Sud Retele and Distrigaz Sud broke off from Distrigaz Sud after distribution and supplying operations were separated in 2007.
Distrigaz Sud made 1,600 employees redundant in 2008, ending the year with 6,200 staff compared with 7,800 at the beginning of that year. The reduction in the number of employees was done via a voluntary redundancy programme carried out over one month last year, with the approximately 1,600 people putting their names on the list.
The company says that after this programme was over, the severance payments amounted to about 17 million euros. More than 1,000 employees left the company 11,000 euros richer, while the rest got 8,700 euros to leave the company