Doprinos makroekonomske stabilnosti poslovanju privrede - primer Srbije

Abstract

The paper analyses the results of the Serbian corporate sector in the period 2013-2022, starting with groups of companies classified by their activity, size, residency of the owner and market orientation. The paper concludes that all groups of companies benefitted from stability and that they used the opportunities created on this account. In the observed ten-year period, the Serbian corporate sector recorded growth in real operating income and operating profit of 5% (8.2% in the period since 2019) and 8.5% on average per annum. Employment rose at the annual trend rate of 3.9%, and export propensity also increased, on average by 2.5 structural points a year. Simultaneously, the average annual trend rate of real GDP growth measured 2.9%, which together supports the assessment of the importance of exports for economic growth. Wage movements also indicate the multiplicative impact of economic growth on the increase in household earnings from work - both in terms of average wage growth and employment gains. If we take a step forward and split the ten-year period into two five-year periods, we can see that the total calculated financial costs on account of interest rates and exchange rate gains/losses decreased by EUR 6.9 bn, making up 37% of the total increase in corporate net profit. This is not merely about the positive impact on corporate money flows, but also about how important they are for financial potential to be more efficiently translated into expansion and/or modernisation of existing and construction of new capacities in a stable and predictable business environment. This is only one part of the direct importance of price stability and relative stability of the exchange rate for successful business performance, growth, and employment.