Companies, almost double growth for those who diversify and are sustainable

They are predominantly located in Northern Italy (75%), although there is a strong increase in companies from the Centre, which rose from 8% to 17% of the total this year. They are active in various production sectors - from machinery manufacturing to the food industry, from wholesale trade to electronics and metal processing. They are largely unlisted (83%) and are family-owned.

The 115 companies selected this year by the Sda Bocconi School of management (out of a potential pool of around 1,800 subjects) for the ninth edition of the Best Performance Award (Bpa) thus reflect the main characteristics of Italian companies. Yet, they clearly stand out from the average in terms of economic-financial results: the growth in revenues of the companies in the sample is almost double the average of their respective sectors. Ebitda margin is 1.2 times the average and investments on total assets 1.1 times. Investments that are also largely aimed at sustainability, now considered a strategic lever for the competitiveness and resilience of Italian companies.

Five of these 115 companies, already decidedly 'good performers', received yesterday evening in Milan the award promoted by Sda Bocconi in partnership with PWC Italia, J.P. Morgan, Fondazione Umberto Veronesi ETS, Elite-Gruppo Euronext and Havas Pr. Chiesi Farmaceutici won the Best Performer of the Year award, while the Best Performing Large Company award went to Andriani; the Best Performing Medium Company award went to Bonaudo and PhotoSì won the Best Performing Small Company award. Finally, Mapei was awarded the Best Performing Hot Topic 'Global Macroeconomic Scenarios and Resilience'. This year's theme - very topical - investigated the strategies adopted by companies to cope with the difficult and uncertain international context. These included risk management policies, resilience, decision-making capacity and governance, as well as financial, technological, innovation and sustainability aspects.

"Bpa allows us to observe how the most successful Italian companies are reinterpreting their role in the economic system. It offers a privileged look at management approaches that can become a reference point in our entrepreneurial fabric and redefine the future of Italian competitiveness," said Maurizio Dallocchio, Full Professor at Sda Bocconi and Bocconi University, as well as scientific director of the award together with Leonardo Etro, Associate Professor of Corporate Finance and M&A at the same university.

Deepening Sda Bocconi's analysis of the sampled companies, it can be observed that the companies that came in the top places have a decidedly larger than average size and a high capacity for diversification, not only of geographies, but also of business. In addition, 80% have a greater propensity to go abroad and greater financial capacity. Between 2023 and 2024, they recorded an average revenue growth of 8.1%, an Ebitda margin of 15.6%, an investment-to-asset ratio (Capex) of 6.8% and grew 1.8 times faster than the industry average. Even more significant results for companies involved in extraordinary transactions: those that have made at least one acquisition in the last three years show 2.4 times the growth of their sector. In addition, companies that have implemented structured corporate welfare plans show growth 2 times faster than the benchmark, compared to growth of 0.9 for those without a dedicated plan.