Export of labor force increases Atlassib

Sibiu-based transportation company, Atlassib, owned by businessman Ilie Carabulea, posted net sales worth €18.9 million in the first quarter of 2007, 26 percent more than Q1 2006 (€14 million).

Atlassib is specialized in international passenger transport. The main reason for the rise in sales is linked to free access of Romanians on several EU member labor markets. The number of passengers has increased by 30-40 percent, compared to last year, Carabulea told Business Standard.

The company’s owner estimates net sales of about €82 million this year, a 7 percent year-on-year increase. For 2006, net sales amounted to €76.2 million.

Atlassib’s operations are 91 percent on the external market. Besides traditional transport destinations - Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium, and the Republic of Moldova, Atlassib has new routes this year to Greece and the United Kingdom, Carabulea said. For 2007, he estimates net income worth €8.6 million, a 25.4 percent year-on-year increase. Net profit for 2006 amounted to €6.15 million.

The transportation company is part of Atlassib Holding, with companies operating in insurance, leasing, transportation and banking. Net sales of the holding are forecast to increase 25 percent this year, to €270 million.
Carabulea said the holding is to expand this summer, in order to develop air passenger transportation, as it has a flight operation license.

Atlassib is the largest transportation company on the local market. Its main competitor is Eurolines, a company owned by Dragos Atanasiu, the newly-appointed President of the National Association of Tourism Agencies (ANAT).

Due to high prices of airline tickets, the bus remains the preferred transportation means for Romanians going abroad. Atlassib had about 600,000 passengers in 2006, while Eurolines transported some 121,000 passengers, a 30 percent year-on-year increase for the former.

Besides Atlassib and Eurolines, other smaller companies operating in the international transportation field are C&I and Dacos.
The Romanian passenger transportation market is the most profitable in the entire region. According to the President of the Romanian Transport Operators Federation (FORT), the number of passengers increased in Romania by 20 percent compared to other countries in the region, in the past few years.