Report states Russia’s main IT firms enjoy massive increase in turnover

(MENAFN) Russia’s leading IT companies have nearly doubled their revenue over the past three years, driven by increased domestic demand and the exit of foreign competitors, according to a report released Tuesday by Smart Ranking. The combined turnover of the country’s top 100 IT firms reached 6.7 trillion rubles (approximately $83.1 billion), marking a 95% increase since 2022.

The top ten companies — including tech heavyweight Yandex, social media platform VK, and state-run telecom giant Rostelecom — generated around 70% of this total, or 4.6 trillion rubles ($57 billion). Yandex alone saw its revenue surge by 110% to 1.95 trillion rubles. Tinkoff Bank reported a 163% increase to 962 billion rubles, and online retailer Wildberries grew its revenue by 108% to 657.5 billion rubles. ICS Holding, the smallest in the top ten, posted a 198% jump, reaching 140 billion rubles.

The report focused solely on revenue from digital products and services, excluding income from hardware sales, offline operations, or unrelated sectors.

Growth has been fueled by several factors: the withdrawal of Western tech firms following the Ukraine conflict, a rise in mergers and acquisitions, and heightened demand for full-service digital ecosystems — including fintech, transportation, and food delivery services. Eight of the ten leading companies now operate such integrated platforms.

Dmitry Kalaev, head of the Internet Initiatives Development Fund Accelerator, noted that only 11 of the top 100 companies are publicly listed, reflecting limited access to investment capital in the sector. He highlighted high interest rates as a major obstacle to initial public offerings (IPOs) and emphasized that while Russian IT firms have strong domestic performance, they struggle with international expansion due to funding shortages and challenges in building globally competitive technologies.

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