Končar's Order Book Hits €2.9bn as Export Boom Continues

Končar, the Zagreb-based industrial group, has marked seven consecutive years of strong growth, with its order backlog jumping from 420 million euros in 2019 to 2.9 billion euros at the end of 2025. That's according to Gordan Kolak, president of the management board, who spoke to Večernji list after being nominated for businessman of the year in the annual selection organised by the newspaper and Poslovni dnevnik.

Kolak highlighted that more than 80 percent of the 2.9 billion euros in contracted orders comes from outside Croatia, a significant shift from 2015 when the domestic and export split was roughly half and half. "We have a stable growth over seven years, and the order book shows we will have it going forward," he said, noting that the backlog is the key indicator of future performance.

The company has been expanding its production capacity to keep up with demand. In January, Končar opened a new transformer tank factory and, after 30 years, formed a new joint venture with an existing partner. In July, it signed a financing agreement worth 320 million euros with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, Zagrebačka banka and Privredna banka Zagreb to fund new production facilities.

Končar also crossed a market capitalisation of three billion euros for the first time, up from just 150 million euros six years ago during the COVID crisis. The group's subsidiary Dalekovod recently secured a contract worth more than 300 million euros for the same Swedish customer, Svenska Kraftnät, with whom Končar signed its largest ever deal for transformer stations.

The European Commission has also selected Končar Nexus among 77 projects to receive co-financing from the Innovation Fund, the only Croatian project on the list. The nearly 40 million euros in grants will support development of the Končar Smart Power Interface, a system for converting alternating current to direct current at medium voltage levels, aimed at powering electrolysers, battery systems and data centres.

With export revenue making up 70 percent of total income, Kolak believes further growth is possible as the group delivers its existing orders and continues to expand its market presence.