The success measurement criteria used in the survey included newly-created value, productivity, income, profit, employment and assets. The newly-created value is counted as a sum of gross wages and gross profit.
Export growth and the successful tourist season are expected to result in 2004's Gross Domestic Product exceeding conservative estimates and reaching around four per cent.
All 500 companies on the list generated 6.07 billion euros of newly-created value in 2003. The first on the list, telecommunications firm T-HT, posted 349.5 million euros of newly-created value. It earned 938.3 million euros in revenue, 134.7 million in profit and 68.2 million in exports.
Among the top 10 are Croatian Post (HP), Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ), Adris Group, T-Mobile Croatia, HEP - Distribucija (National Electricity Board), pharmaceutical firm Pliva and financial agency Fina.
INA accounted for 6.2 per cent of the country's overall exports, Pliva for 2.8 per cent and Ericsson Nikola Tesla for 2 per cent.
One hundred and thirty-eight companies included on the top 500 list in 2002 were dropped from the 2003 list, including state-owned forest management company Hrvatske Sume, newspaper publisher Tisak, food company Lura and pharmaceutical firm Medika.
The greatest progress was achieved by reinsurance company Croatia Lloyd, which climbed from 219th to 158th position.