Financial Trends and Performance in the Food Industry: An Evaluation of Key Indicators

Paper's objective(s) and research backgroundThe food industry plays a crucial role in shaping cultural practices, consumer trends, and economic development.It continually adapts to changes in technology, consumer preferences, and societal demands, making it a dynamic and influential sector.The food industry has a long tradition in Slovakia, although it has undergone a significant and complicated restructuring since 1990.A significant milestone in the development of the food industry was Slovakia's accession to the EU in the context of adapting to European markets not only in terms of production but also in terms of legislation.In addition to the harmonisation of legislation, accession to the EU also brought about an increase in the share of foreign capital in food companies and their integration into international business structures.In addition, the food industry has also seen changes in terms of technical and technological innovations and organisational changes in the production, distribution and sale of food commodities. Data/MethodsThe aim of the paper is to evaluate the financial trends and performance of the food industry in the time period 2016-2022 based on selected key indicators.The analysis includes data within SK NACE Section C, Division 10.In addition to general theoretical scientific methods, we used time analysis methods. Results/Conclusions/Value addedThe analysis showed that during the time period 2016-2022, the number of enterprises increased every year, even in the pandemic year 2020.In terms of ownership, the largest share of enterprises (90.02%) are domestic private enterprises.The sales of enterprises showed a growing trend, with the exception of 2020.The highest economic result before taxation was recorded by food enterprises in 2022, at the level of more than 95.6 million., on the contrary, the lowest economic result before taxation was recorded in 2017 at the level of 0.4 million..In the pandemic year 2020, the economic result increased by 89.8% year-on-year, even though sales decreased slightly that year.A year-on-year decrease in EBIDTA was recorded in 2017.Throughout the analysed time period, the personnel costs of enterprises also increased every year precisely due to the changing legislation on employee remuneration.In addition to the pandemic that most significantly affected the food industry in 2020, the sector is currently facing other challenges such as the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine and inflation.Therefore, an important challenge for the food industry will be the development of new food processing technologies, the streamlining of production and the search for new incentives.As the food industry is dependent on primary agricultural production, a well-adjusted agricultural policy at national, supranational (EU Member States) and global level is a very important part of the development of the food industry.