Analysis of the Performance Indicators of the Leading Corporate Companies from the Brewing Industry in Serbia

Abstract

Introduction: In this paper, an analysis of the business success of 5 leading companies that perform their business activities in the field of brewing was carried out. The degree of achieved business success is measured by indicators that point to the conclusion of whether business entities successfully manage their business activities or not. The main indicators for measuring the final results of business are profitability and cost-effectiveness.

Aim: The aim of the paper is to determine the degree of success that the observed companies achieve during their business activities in a given period, as well as to look at the mutual order and relationship between these economic entities based on a comparative analysis of the obtained coefficients of cost-effectiveness and profitability.

Materials and Methods: The analysis of these indicators was done on the basis of the data contained in the income statement. The method of analysis and comparison was used in the preparation of the paper. The most commonly used form of financial statement analysis is using ratio numbers. Ratio analysis implies the stated ratio of one balance sheet position to another, shown through a mathematical formulation.

Results: By looking at the structure of total income and total expenses of the considered economic entities, the largest percentage of participation of the category of business income and business expenses was observed. This implies that the value of these determinants primarily depends on the volume of business activities. The obtained coefficients of the basic business indicators, during the observed period, were always higher than 1 in only two breweries. This means that in the others, at least once in the analyzed period, the business was uneconomical.

Conclusion: By determining the indicators of profitability and cost-effectiveness, we came to the conclusion that, of the 5 leading companies of this agro-industrial branch, only "Heineken" Serbia and "Apatinska pivara" had coefficients that indicate constant business success during the observed time. Other breweries encounter a low valuation of these indicators in at least one analyzed year, which points to certain obstacles they encounter during their operations. This very fact justifies the claim of an oligopolistic beer market in the Republic of Serbia, which is characterized by one dominant producer, with one larger and one smaller follower, and a group of brewers with great potential.