THE IMPORTANCE AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS OF THE STRONGEST TRADING COMPANIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Trade (commerce) in general and trading companies with their trading activities are making a significant part of the overall Croatian economy. Over a quarter of the total number of registered companies are active in the field of trade, employing more than a fifth of the total workforce in the country. Commonly, the trade has about a ten percent share in Croatian gross domestic product. With business operations in construction, manufacturing, and tourism, the trade belongs to the most vital local industries. Due to the importance of trade for economic flows in Croatia, it is necessary to follow and analyze the trading companies' business activities and financial performance. Different indicators could be used for such purposes as indicators in productivity, economic efficiency, and profitability. The usual method for analyzing and evaluating a company's performance is to use financial analysis based on the data in publicly disclosed financial reports. Therefore, the paper aims to give a short review of the role and essential characteristics of the trade and trading companies in Croatia. Furthermore, trading companies' activities and financial performance will be analyzed on a sample of the biggest trading companies in Croatia ranked by revenues over a recent three-year period. Selected indicators such as revenues, price difference (price margin), inventory turnover ratios, debt ratios, return on equity, and similar will be analyzed using financial reports. The conducted analysis results will show the strengths and weaknesses of trading companies and the trade-in Croatia and indicate potential trends and developments in the trade sector shortly.