Serbian economy reports net profit: What now?

The Serbian economy has reported net profit this year once again, according to APR’s data. They add that the main carrier of profitability is the processing industry. Big, medium-sized and small enterprises are reporting net profit, but entrepreneurs are facing the biggest problems both with profitability, and with the possibility of obtaining a loan, reports N1.

Last year, companies in Serbia reported a total profit of 437.2 billion dinars, which is 2.3 times higher than the profit of the economy in 2016.

Three-fifths of the companies did business with profit. Public companies were also in the black – with a profit of about 29 million dinars. However, out of 576 public companies, 135 reported a loss. On the other hand, micro-enterprises – companies that have up to five employees, and there are about 90,000 of them, reported a loss.

According to the APR’s analysis, indebtedness and illiquidity are the biggest difficulties for the Serbian economy. As well as the collection of receivables.

„Obviously, discipline in settling these obligations is left pretty much to the morals of the companies. There is an unwritten rule of the lack of reproach between companies. They only file lawsuits when it comes to high accounts receivable,“ says Ruzica Stamenkovic of the APR.

Why are the smallest companies and entrepreneurs facing difficulties? Zoran Vujovic of the Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises says that the key problem is a lack of finances for them.

„If you open an entrepreneurial company as an entrepreneur today, you have fixed costs that you have to pay, then there are the costs of renting property, you have to pay your own salary and the salary of an employee, taxes and contributions also have to be paid, simply, you need about ten thousand euros before you even make a single business deal,“ explains Vujovic.

Izvor: N1

Foto: Pixabay