In the last quarter of 2024, Serbia’s economy experienced a 6.3% increase in business revenues compared to the same period in 2023. However, operating expenses also rose by 7.8%, indicating a slight increase in pressure on the profitability of the Serbian economy towards the end of the year.
The largest growth was recorded in the accommodation and food service sector, while agriculture experienced a decline in business revenues. As expected, the IT sector also saw revenue growth.
According to the report from the Republic Statistical Office, the data covers the fourth quarter of the previous year, with processed information on sectors such as agriculture, construction, trade, transport, accommodation and food services, and information and communication technologies (ICT).
Although all sectors reported higher business revenues from the sale of goods and services, they also experienced an increase in operating expenses, meaning that while revenues rose by 6.3%, expenses grew by 7.8%. Compared to the third quarter of 2024, revenues increased by 9.2%, and expenses rose by 10.6%.
The accommodation and food services sector showed the highest revenue growth, increasing by 25.7% year-on-year. Compared to the previous quarter, the growth was lower at 5.03%. This growth can be attributed to the continual rise in prices of hospitality services, which increased by 14.1% from December 2023 to December 2024.
On the other hand, agriculture had the poorest performance, recording a 7.1% drop in revenues year-on-year. Although expenses were reduced by 2.2%, the sector’s difficulties are well known and often highlighted by farmers.
The industrial and construction sectors had a nearly double increase in expenses compared to their revenue growth. Specifically, revenue in these sectors grew by 6.5%, while expenses rose by 11.9%.
In the IT sector, revenue increased by 11.6% year-on-year, with a 25.5% growth compared to the third quarter of 2024. Operating expenses were 11.4% higher than in the same period of 2023, and compared to the third quarter, expenses rose by 25.9%.
In the ICT manufacturing sector, the highest revenue growth of 36.9% was observed in the production of communication equipment, although expenses also grew significantly by 36.7%. Revenue from computer and equipment sales decreased by 5.4%, while expenses increased by 17.6%.
Regarding IT services, revenue from software publishing grew by 31.2%, while expenses in this area decreased by 1.8%. In contrast, wholesale trade in ICT equipment experienced a 1.8% decline in profit, and expenses in this sector decreased by 1.5%.
The performance of the ICT sector in Serbia has been repeatedly affirmed by government officials. In January 2024, the Director of the Office for IT and eGovernment, Mihailo Jovanović, announced that the total export of ICT services from January to November 2024 amounted to €3.712 billion, surpassing the previous year’s record.
In November 2024 alone, the export of ICT services reached €371 million, representing a 20% increase compared to November 2023, according to Nova Ekonomija.
