Profiting from feedstuffs, soap and biodiesel

Based in Torres Novas, where its logistic storage facility is also located, Luís Leal & Filhos’s activity is spread across various regions of the country: warehouses in Mosteirô and a factory in Arrifana, both in Santa Maria da Feira. Animal feedstuffs and soap industries, as well as the Veterinary and Food Board and biodiesel companies, are the main clients of the company, which employs around 100 workers.

In 2015, Luís Leal & Filhos sold more than 16.4 million euros, which represents a growth of 38.6%, while profits rose to 4.5 million euros (106.1% more, as compared to 2014). Luís Leal, the company’s manager, explains this growth with "our continuous investment in innovative equipment, which allows us to operate towards a finished product with an ever increasing added value ". In 2016, a year in which investments reached 2 million euros, Luís Leal is expecting similar results as compared to 2015.

During this year Luís Leal & Filhos has been under the spotlight as State creditors, within the framework of its contract for the Integrated System for Collecting Animal Carcasses. "Right now the State owes more than 4 million euros to Luís Leal ", told us the company’s manager. When we asked him about the impact of the debt, which has been dragging on since the middle of 2015, Luís Leal answered that "at a time when bank financing is so difficult, while one must keep on investing in new equipment and technology, such a high debt is bound to condition our financing options ".

The Integrated System for Collecting Animal Carcasses was created in the aftermath of the 'mad cow crisis' (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE) and its purpose is to avoid the danger of contagion through dead animals. Luís Leal & Filhos is one of the companies that collects all kinds of dead animals (like cows, pigs and horses).

In the year when Luís Leal & Filhos was the winner, the top 1000 SME’s totalled a turnover of 17.8 billion euros, which represents a 7.1% growth as compared to 2014, with 505 million euros in net results (21% more than in the previous year).

International markets are also expanding. Altogether, the top one thousand small and medium enterprises exported 4.3 billion euros (8.4% more), which means that a quarter of transactions were conducted outside Portugal.

Most companies (71%) have an exporting profile, with international markets representing 34% of their total turnover. Regarding the relevance of these markets, from the 714 exporting companies, only 172 have an international turnover in excess of 10 million euros, which represents 66% of total exports. One third of companies sell less than one million euros abroad, which represents less than 1.5% of the Top 1000 SMEs exports.

Concerning the total revenues of these one thousand small and medium companies, 73% of them invoiced under 20 million euros. Onley 16.6% of companies invoiced between that amount and 30 million. With an even smaller share (7,3%) 29 companies invoiced between 40 and 50 million euros.

Though small and medium in size, the Top 1000 SMEs employ 71.232 people, 53.1% of which have more than 50 workers. Women make up 39% of  the workforce, which is slightly below the total national average (42%). Curiously, there are more women in top positions among the top 1000 SMEs (28% in management and 15% in the board), than in the one thousand largest companies in the country (15% in management and 8% in the board).

Founded in 1969, Luís Leal & Filhos is among the majority of the Top 1000  Portuguese SME’s:  61.8% of these companies have already reached maturity, i.e. are 20 or older. Together with the adult societies (between six and 19 years), they represent 95% of this corporate fabric. 80 companies are 50 or older, and three of them have broken the 100 year barrier.

Companies with 20 or more years also boast the largest percentage (62.9%) in the turnover of the top 1000 SMEs, which represents a sales volume of around 11.2 billion euros.