Financial position of food industry in Vojvodina during the transition period

The paper analyzes the main indicators of the economic position of companies in the field of food industry in Vojvodina. The examined nine-year period coincides with the final stage of the ownership transformation in the Republic of Serbia. Given the length of the examined period, a considerable devaluation of the national currency (60.6%) and a high inflation rate (125.7%), all values are shown in Euros. The increasing business activity in the period of interest is not accompanied by the appropriate financial effects. Food industry enterprises achieved a positive financial result for most of the years in the given period, but with modest profit rates (0.15-3.18%). Net working capital covers only 42.5% in average of the base stock, indicating an unfavourable financial structure and serious liquidity problems. An unacceptably high level of indebtness has been achieved (58.1%), which significantly reduces financial results due to the high financing expense. A further increase of export, combined with the recapitalization by the owners and a partial refinancing of credits, is the way to the companies' financial recovery.