Norway has gone a different route than many other countries with its economy in that many of its companies are partly owned by the state. This, coupled with the fact that some of its largest companies are pension funds, has coupled business and government close together for the social stability of the country.
Norway’s economy is developed and diverse, with the oil, energy, and finance sectors taking the lead. Equinor is the largest oil and energy company in Norway, while Norsk Hydro is one of the world’s largest aluminum distributors. DnB is Norway’s largest bank, with customers all around the world.
We’ll take a look at each of these and more in this list of the ten largest companies in Norway by revenue.
Equinor
Equinor is an oil, gas, and renewable energy company. Founded in 1972, they specialize in oil and natural gas extraction off the coast of Norway. Recently, they have diversified into wind power and other energy alternatives. Operating in 36 countries, they are headquartered in Stavanger, Norway.
Previously called Statoil, it used to be owned by the government before opening to the public market. The government of Norway remains the largest shareholder of Equinor (ticker: EQNR) owning 67% of its stock as of 2017.
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro is one of the largest aluminum companies in the world and operates in 40 countries with over 30,000 employees. Founded in 1905, the company also works with energy, recycling, renewables, and batteries in addition to its primary aluminum operations.
Norsk Hydro is traded publicly on the Olso Stock Exchange (ticker: NHY) and has 34.3% of its shares owned by the Norwegian government.
Yara International
Yara International is a chemical company that specializes in producing nitrogen-based synthetic fertilizers and other nitrogen-based products. It was created from a demerger from Norsk Hydro in 2004.
They have 13,000 employees across six continents and are one of the largest synthetic fertilizer producers in the world. Yara International is publicly traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: YAR) with a large stake owned by the Norwegian government.
Telenor
Telenor began in 1855 as Norway’s only telegraph provider before moving onto telephone service and now telecommunications in general. Today, it is a multinational telecommunications company with operations in eight countries spanning Scandinavia and Asia.
It also provides broadband and TV distribution for its customers. It is majority-owned by the Norwegian state but is publicly traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: TEL).
KLP
The KLP or Kommunal Landspensjonskasse Gjensidig Forsikringsselskap is a provider of financial services to the public sector and its employees.
It was founded in 1949 and primarily serves as a pension management and mutual insurance company for over 900 000 customers, however, it has gradually expanded its product offering to include banking services and home loans.
Its goal is to provide safe and responsible financial services for public service employees by providing them with pension plans and it is not publicly traded.
Norgesgruppen
The Norgesgruppen is a grocery wholesaling group founded in 1866 that also operates over 1800 retail grocery stores representing almost 50% of the Norwegian grocery store market.
It has 41,000 employees and runs under many different private labels, most notably the premium grocery store chain Meny, and budget chain Kiwi.
Its wholesale branch, ASKO, supplies its products to hotels, restaurants, and caterers all across the country in addition to its grocers. It is currently a private company and not publicly traded on any exchange.
Storebrand
Storebrand is a financial services company whose principal activities are life insurance and pensions. It traces its history back to 1767 and has undergone many mergers since 1986, making it now one of the largest of its kind in Norway.
Storebrand has almost 1 trillion NOK of assets under management, equivalent to 100 billion USD. In recent years, they have also started to provide additional financial services such as private banking. It is headquartered just outside Oslo in Lysaker and is publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: STB).
DnB
DnB is Norway’s largest financial services group headquartered in Olso. It is Norway’s largest bank and is one-third owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry.
With combined assets of 1.9 million NOK or 190 billion USD, it is one of the world’s largest shipping banks and specializes in the energy and fishing sectors. Although its focus is on Norwegian customers, it also has 27 branch offices in countries around the world.
It is publicly traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker DNB.
Reitangruppen
The Reitangruppen is a retailing group founded in 1948 and headquartered in Trondheim, Norway. They specialize in discount grocery stores but work with 1000s of family businesses across the Scandinavian countries as owners and business partners. Their main business model is bringing a value-based philosophy to the stores they own.
They are privately owned and therefore not publicly traded.
Coop Norge
Coop Norge is Norway’s largest cooperative, owned by 117 local cooperatives and headquartered in Oslo.
First opened in the 1850s, by 1906 a ground of 28 cooperatives formed a coop group that would become the Coop Norge. The coop stores range in goods from everything from groceries and hardware to discount and electronics stores, all under the ‘Coop’ name.
As a cooperative, they are not publicly traded.
