PROFITABILITY OF FOOD INDUSTRY COMPANIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Food industry is an important segment of manufacturing industry. The EU food industry is the world's leader. An important characteristic of the food sector of the Republic of Serbia is its pronounced dual structure, with a large number of small and medium-sized and a small number of large companies. It is believed that the relatively modest funds for investment in modern technology and increasing production efficiency, despite foreign direct investment, have an unfavourable effect on the perspective of this sector. Based on the number of companies, capacities, volume of production, export potential, and number of employees, confectionery industry is assessed as a significant segment of food industry and economy of the Republic of Serbia. The research objective is to examine whether reputable companies in the food industry of the Republic of Serbia are profitable and assess their profitability growth in the past four-year period. The research results show that the values of the relevant profitability indicators vary considerably in the observed period, regardless of their reputation and the competitive position on the market.