The UK’s most profitable FTSE 100 company is little known 3i (private equity and venture capital) which generates a staggering £5,206,406 ($6,858,685 USD) of profit per employee. The Oil & Gas industry generates the highest revenue per employee at £3,733,442 ($4,918,268 USD).
However, Real Estate Investment Trusts are the UK’s most profitable industry, with companies averaging just over £686,000 ($903,705 USD) of profit per employee.
The full data set and interactive charts for all FTSE 100 companies can be found below, but first a few other highlights.
- The 5 most profitable companies per employee are: 3i, Land Securities, BHP, Segro and British Land.
- The 5 companies with the highest revenue per employee are: 3i, St. James’s Place, Royal Dutch Shell, Prudential and BP.
- Surprisingly banks are not among the 5 most profitable industries, which are: Real Estate Investment Trusts, Oil & Gas Producers, Financial Services, Mining, Mobile Telecommunications.
- In terms of revenue per employee the top 5 are: Oil & Gas Producers, Life Insurance, Electricity, Real Estate Investment Trusts and Mining.
- In total, FTSE 100 companies employ 4,895,201 people (not all of whom work in the UK).
- And they generate profits of over £312 billion ($411 billion USD) from revenues of just over £2 trillion ($2.64 trillion USD).
- Compass Group is the largest employer with 550,000 employees but has the lowest revenue per employee (just £40,855) and third lowest profit per employee (£3,818).
- Segro has the fewest employees at just 279.
| Company Name | Employees | Profit Per Employee | Revenue Per Employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3i | 281 | £5,206,406 | £4,669,039 |
| Land Securities | 615 | £834,146 | £1,385,366 |
| BHP | 26,146 | £774,115 | £1,578,444 |
| Segro | 279 | £745,878 | £1,065,233 |
| British Land | 835 | £556,886 | £887,425 |
| Royal Dutch Shell | 84,000 | £517,619 | £3,840,714 |
| BP | 69,700 | £395,409 | £3,604,161 |
| Antofagasta | 6,200 | £388,710 | £766,129 |
| Rio Tinto | 46,807 | £351,016 | £855,214 |
| Rightmove | 520 | £345,615 | £467,827 |
| Legal & General | 7,629 | £304,103 | £1,392,057 |
| Shire plc | 23,044 | £279,899 | £666,117 |
| Berkeley Group Holdings | 2,800 | £279,393 | £964,286 |
| Fresnillo | 4,817 | £238,738 | £433,880 |
| Standard Life Aberdeen | 9,651 | £215,522 | £788,519 |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | 1,310 | £215,115 | £318,168 |
| National Grid | 23,023 | £208,487 | £662,381 |
| Persimmon | 4,713 | £203,374 | £725,652 |
| United Utilities | 5,347 | £192,631 | £325,416 |
| Prudential | 22,912 | £175,454 | £3,777,933 |
| Schroders | 4,619 | £174,215 | £556,397 |
| London Stock Exchange | 4,908 | £167,278 | £399,348 |
| St. James's Place | 2,155 | £165,244 | £4,213,457 |
| Taylor Wimpey | 5,193 | £159,831 | £764,491 |
| Vodafone Group | 95,049 | £154,236 | £570,758 |
| Randgold Resources | 4,003 | £148,928 | £309,768 |
| Barratt Developments | 6,193 | £136,234 | £778,298 |
| Diageo | 30,051 | £133,773 | £404,645 |
| Severn Trent | 6,256 | £132,385 | £270,141 |
| ITV | 6,055 | £131,957 | £516,928 |
| InterContinental Hotels | 6,658 | £121,508 | £267,348 |
| Imperial Brands | 33,800 | £114,201 | £448,521 |
| Anglo American | 69,000 | £109,855 | £380,290 |
| SSE | 20,786 | £109,689 | £1,502,454 |
| Ashtead | 15,996 | £108,152 | £231,933 |
| GVC Holdings | 2,657 | £97,249 | £391,419 |
| Aviva | 30,021 | £92,935 | £1,170,514 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | 98,462 | £88,359 | £304,889 |
| Croda International | 4,309 | £86,981 | £317,939 |
| Experian | 16,500 | £86,667 | £282,424 |
| AstraZeneca | 61,100 | £84,943 | £363,993 |
| Reckitt Benckiser | 40,000 | £82,750 | £287,750 |
| Glencore | 145,977 | £81,314 | £1,407,619 |
| Smith & Nephew | 15,933 | £80,336 | £299,379 |
| International Consolidated Airlines | 62,238 | £80,015 | £431,890 |
| Lloyds Banking Group* | 67,905 | £77,682 | £261,836 |
| Informa | 7,539 | £74,081 | £233,453 |
| Unilever | 160,566 | £72,369 | £389,746 |
| RELX Group | 31,000 | £72,258 | £237,097 |
| Direct Line Group | 10,808 | £71,577 | £320,133 |
| easyJet | 12,280 | £66,368 | £439,739 |
| BT Group | 105,800 | £63,422 | £224,197 |
| Paddy Power Betfair | 7,640 | £61,937 | £229,058 |
| Mondi | 26,207 | £61,816 | £315,565 |
| Sky plc | 31,578 | £61,752 | £419,279 |
| Centrica | 33,138 | £58,241 | £845,555 |
| RSA Insurance Group | 12,636 | £57,771 | £561,887 |
| Burberry | 10,135 | £57,070 | £269,364 |
| Carnival Corporation | 99,200 | £54,234 | £185,081 |
| Johnson Matthey | 12,348 | £53,936 | £1,143,505 |
| Just Eat | 2,919 | £53,032 | £187,153 |
| Ferguson | 33,000 | £51,818 | £674,848 |
| HSBC* | 228,899 | £49,284 | £220,228 |
| Micro Focus | 16,100 | £44,815 | £119,876 |
| Admiral Group | 9,696 | £43,833 | £116,543 |
| CRH | 85,000 | £43,059 | £345,647 |
| DCC | 11,146 | £42,846 | £1,279,383 |
| Halma | 6,341 | £38,032 | £170,320 |
| Evraz | 70,186 | £36,475 | £154,304 |
| Coca-Cola HBC AG | 29,427 | £36,361 | £258,266 |
| Sage Group | 13,292 | £35,059 | £133,163 |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings | 50,000 | £34,800 | £326,200 |
| Bunzl | 18,154 | £33,679 | £472,623 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland Group* | 70,900 | £31,580 | £179,408 |
| Next | 28,318 | £31,040 | £143,372 |
| Smurfit Kappa | 46,000 | £30,000 | £216,739 |
| Smiths Group | 22,000 | £27,818 | £145,909 |
| NMC Health | 13,739 | £25,645 | £116,457 |
| Melrose Industries | 11,351 | £24,967 | £184,125 |
| Smith, D.S. | 28,500 | £24,035 | £202,456 |
| TUI Group | 55,773 | £23,488 | £396,787 |
| BAE Systems | 83,200 | £22,596 | £220,192 |
| Standard Chartered | 82,838 | £19,689 | £159,951 |
| WPP plc | 134,413 | £17,558 | £113,605 |
| Pearson | 32,500 | £17,077 | £138,769 |
| Whitbread | 50,000 | £16,804 | £66,000 |
| Rentokil Initial | 36,000 | £13,819 | £66,944 |
| Associated British Foods | 133,000 | £13,759 | £116,391 |
| Marks & Spencer | 80,787 | £13,616 | £132,447 |
| British American Tobacco | 60,593 | £13,137 | £334,857 |
| Intertek | 43,906 | £12,518 | £63,089 |
| Kingfisher | 78,000 | £11,385 | £149,487 |
| Sainsbury's | 121,200 | £9,983 | £234,818 |
| Morrisons | 105,487 | £7,641 | £163,622 |
| Tesco | 440,658 | £6,150 | £128,944 |
| Ocado | 12,799 | £5,532 | £114,071 |
| Compass Group | 550,000 | £3,818 | £40,855 |
| Royal Mail | 161,851 | £3,509 | £62,836 |
| Barclays* | 79,900 | £0 | £234,043 |
* Profit per employee is calculated using EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation) with the exception of Banks which which is based on Profit before tax. See methodology section for more.
| Industy | Number of Employees | Industry Profit | Profit Per Employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate Investment Trusts | 1,729 | £1,186,100,000 | £686,003 |
| Oil & Gas Producers | 153,700 | £71,040,000,000 | £462,199 |
| Financial Services | 20,769 | £5,437,500,000 | £261,808 |
| Mining | 302,950 | £60,276,160,000 | £198,964 |
| Mobile Telecommunications | 95,049 | £14,660,000,000 | £154,236 |
| Life Insurance | 62,717 | £9,486,100,000 | £151,252 |
| Gas, Water & Multiutilities | 67,764 | £8,588,200,000 | £126,737 |
| Household Goods & Home Construction | 58,899 | £6,724,500,000 | £114,170 |
| Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology | 182,606 | £20,340,000,000 | £111,387 |
| Electricity | 20,786 | £2,280,000,000 | £109,689 |
| Beverages | 59,478 | £5,090,000,000 | £85,578 |
| Personal Goods | 170,701 | £12,198,400,000 | £71,461 |
| Fixed Line Telecommunications | 105,800 | £6,710,000,000 | £63,422 |
| Chemicals | 16,657 | £1,040,800,000 | £62,484 |
| Forestry & Paper | 26,207 | £1,620,000,000 | £61,816 |
| Nonlife Insurance | 33,140 | £1,928,600,000 | £58,196 |
| Health Care Equipment & Services | 29,672 | £1,632,340,000 | £55,013 |
| Tobacco | 94,393 | £4,656,000,000 | £49,326 |
| Construction & Materials | 96,351 | £3,943,400,000 | £40,927 |
| Software & Computer Services | 29,392 | £1,187,520,000 | £40,403 |
| Support Services | 174,702 | £7,006,060,000 | £40,103 |
| Banks | 530,442 | £20,426,000,000 | £38,508 |
| Electronic & Electrical Equipment | 6,341 | £241,160,000 | £38,032 |
| Industrial Metals & Mining | 70,186 | £2,560,000,000 | £36,475 |
| Media | 243,605 | £8,642,220,000 | £35,476 |
| General Industrials | 96,500 | £2,677,000,000 | £27,741 |
| Aerospace & Defense | 133,200 | £3,620,000,000 | £27,177 |
| Travel & Leisure | 846,446 | £16,965,790,000 | £20,044 |
| General Retailers | 190,024 | £3,021,800,000 | £15,902 |
| Food Producers | 133,000 | £1,830,000,000 | £13,759 |
| Food & Drug Retailers | 680,144 | £4,796,800,000 | £7,053 |
| Industrial Transportation | 161,851 | £568,000,000 | £3,509 |
| Industry | Number of Employees | Industry Revenue | Revenue Per Employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil & Gas Producers | 153,700 | £573,830,000,000 | £3,733,442 |
| Life Insurance | 62,717 | £141,400,000,000 | £2,254,572 |
| Electricity | 20,786 | £31,230,000,000 | £1,502,454 |
| Real Estate Investment Trusts | 1,729 | £1,890,200,000 | £1,093,233 |
| Mining | 302,950 | £321,100,000,000 | £1,059,911 |
| Chemicals | 16,657 | £15,490,000,000 | £929,939 |
| Gas, Water & Multiutilities | 67,764 | £46,700,000,000 | £689,156 |
| Financial Services | 20,769 | £13,868,800,000 | £667,764 |
| Mobile Telecommunications | 95,049 | £54,250,000,000 | £570,758 |
| Household Goods & Home Construction | 58,899 | £26,420,000,000 | £448,564 |
| Personal Goods | 170,701 | £65,310,000,000 | £382,599 |
| Tobacco | 94,393 | £35,450,000,000 | £375,558 |
| Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology | 182,606 | £67,610,000,000 | £370,251 |
| Nonlife Insurance | 33,140 | £11,690,000,000 | £352,746 |
| Support Services | 174,702 | £58,660,000,000 | £335,772 |
| Beverages | 59,478 | £19,760,000,000 | £332,224 |
| Construction & Materials | 96,351 | £31,470,000,000 | £326,618 |
| Forestry & Paper | 26,207 | £8,270,000,000 | £315,565 |
| Aerospace & Defense | 133,200 | £34,630,000,000 | £259,985 |
| Fixed Line Telecommunications | 105,800 | £23,720,000,000 | £224,197 |
| Health Care Equipment & Services | 29,672 | £6,370,000,000 | £214,681 |
| Banks | 530,442 | £112,860,000,000 | £212,766 |
| General Industrials | 96,500 | £18,950,000,000 | £196,373 |
| Media | 243,605 | £45,503,270,000 | £186,791 |
| Electronic & Electrical Equipment | 6,341 | £1,080,000,000 | £170,320 |
| Industrial Metals & Mining | 70,186 | £10,830,000,000 | £154,304 |
| Food & Drug Retailers | 680,144 | £104,000,000,000 | £152,909 |
| General Retailers | 190,024 | £26,966,300,000 | £141,910 |
| Software & Computer Services | 29,392 | £3,700,000,000 | £125,885 |
| Travel & Leisure | 846,446 | £103,110,000,000 | £121,815 |
| Food Producers | 133,000 | £15,480,000,000 | £116,391 |
| Industrial Transportation | 161,851 | £10,170,000,000 | £62,836 |
Methodology & Data
The top 100 companies come from the FTSE 100 Index which is made up of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalisation.
Our list actually only has 99 companies, since we excluded the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, which as the name suggests, is a traded investment trust rather than a regular company.
We calculated profit for most companies using EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation) as it’s a good way to compare profitability of different types of companies. The one exception are banks where we used profit before tax. This was done because banks make a large portion of their profits from interest, so it does not make sense to exclude it.
Charts were created using a logarithmic scale to make them more readable.
Industries are based on FTSE ICB sector.
Most of the data comes from either the London Stock Exchange and/or Yahoo Finance, with some additional information coming from Wikipedia.
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Matthew Mee says
Great article and data set – thanks for collatign and sharing!