The analysis focuses on the added value per employee, calculated as the ratio of turnover to the number of employees (data for 2023), and the average personnel cost. From the comparison of these two values, a synthetic index Contribution Index per Employee (Basco&T Consulting elaboration), which measures the contribution of employees to revenues in relation to their cost to the company.
Share on:
Company size: turnover and number of employees
The cluster of companies under analysis was defined on the basis of turnover, including the 20 largest companies operating in the local public transport sector in Italy. The analysis is based on unconsolidated balance sheets for the financial year 2023.
The average personnel cost was alculated by dividing the total personnel cost by the number of employees. This indicator reflects the average cost of a worker for the company, bearing in mind that it includes all categories, including management figures that can significantly affect the final amount.
The companies with the highest average personnel costs are:
- GTT S.P.A. (€49.3 thousand per employee)
- SASA S.P.A. (€53.5 thousand per employee)
- COTRAL S. P. A. (€50.5 thousand per employee)
- ATM S.P.A. (€51.7 thousand per employee)
Conversely, the companies with the lowest average cost per employee are:
- AMAT PALERMO S. P. A. (€38.3 thousand per employee)
- TRIESTE TRASPORTI S. P. A. (€44.1 thousand per employee)
- AUTOLINEE TOSCANE S. P. A. (€44.1 thousand per employee)
Instead the average revenue per employee measures how much each employee contributes,on average, to company turnover.This indicator varies significantly among the companies analysed.
The companies with the highest average revenue per employee are:
- BUSITALIA SITA NORD. (€142,000 per employee)
- SASA S.P.A. (€138 thousand per employee)
- ARRIVA ITALIA S.R.L. (€138 thousand per employee)
- COTRAL S. P. A. (€124 thousand per employee)
On the other hand, the companies with the lowest values are:
- AMAT PALERMO S. P. A. (€71 thousand per employee)
- AIR CAMPANIA S. P. A. (€80 thousand per employee)
- TRENTINO TRASPORTI S. P. A. (€95 thousand per employee)
The difference between average revenue per employee and average personnel cost expresses, in absolute value, the contribution margin per employee. There is considerable variability among the companies, with BUSITALIA SITA NORD. recording the highest value (€93.5 thousand per employee) and AMAT Palermo S.p.A. the lowest (€28.2 thousand per employee). Some companies, such as SASA, Arriva Italia and Autoguidovie, show a difference between average revenue per employee and average personnel cost of more than €70 thousand.
Others, such as ATAC, Autolinee Toscane and AMT S.p.A., show values below EUR 40,000. This distribution reflects different levels of average revenue per employee and average personnel cost among the companies analysed.
Contribution Index per Employee
The ratio of average revenue per employee to average cost per employee, which we refer to as the contribution ratio per employee, represents how much each worker contributes to the company's revenue compared to how much it costs the company.
NOTE: The value depends not only on the efficiency of the personnel, but also on the service conditions and the market environment.
The interpretation of this value is as follows:
- A value of 1 indicates a balance between personnel costs and revenue generated
- A value of more than 1 indicates how much more each employee contributes to turnover than his or her own cost.
The companies with the highest value per employee are:
- BUSITALIA SITA NORD. (2,9)
- BUS COMPANY S. R. L. (2,8)
- ARRIVA ITALIA S.R.L. (2,7)
- SASA S.P.A. (2,6)
These values indicate that each employee generates on average almost three times their cost in terms of company revenue.
In contrast, the companies with the lowest margin are:
- AMAT PALERMO S. P. A. (1,7)
- TRENTINO TRASPORTI S. P. A. (1,8)
- AIR CAMPANIA S. P. A. (1,9)
Difference between average personnel cost and contribution ratio per employee
The table compares the ranking of public transport companies based on average personnel costs in 2023 with that based on the contribution ratio per employee, showing how the position of each company varies between the two rankings.
The analysis shows that some companies register significant changes between the two rankings. BUSITALIA SITA NORD., for example, while occupying seventh position in terms of average personnel cost, is first in terms of contribution index. Even more pronounced is the case of Bus Company S.R.L., which rises from last in the ranking for average personnel cost to second in the contribution index.
On the contrary, companies such as Trentino Trasporti S.p.A., initially second for average personnel cost, fall to eighteenth position, showing a wide variation. Arriva Italia S.R.L. and ANM S.p.A. also register significant variations, with the former gaining ten positions and the latter losing as many.
Some realities instead maintain a more stable position between the two rankings. SASA S.p.A., despite having the highest average personnel cost, also remains in the top positions in terms of contribution index. Autolinee Toscane S.p.A. does not record any change, while AMAT Palermo S.p.A. remains in the last positions with minimal variation.
Data used
If you want to learn more, have a look also at the focus on wages and inflation in the Italian LPT and on wage trends in the sector at European level.
