PROFITABILITY OF THE SUGAR INDUSTRY IN EUROPEAN UNION

This paper investigates the profitability of sugar industry in the European Union over the period between 2006 and 2015. For this purpose, the level and change in the return on assets was analysed using a set of sugar processing companies. AMADEUS, the trans-European database compiled by Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing, was used as the main data source of the company data. Out of a total number of 183 companies belonging to the NACE 1081 classification, a sample of 50 companies was selected to appropriately represent the sugar processing companies in the European Union. The results of the analysis point to the ability of the European sugar industry to effectively generate profit from the invested capital (at EU level). However, there are differences in the profitability of total assets among the companies, including their ability to respond to price changes on the European and world markets.