Profitability In Recent Years Research Articles

What damages are the most frequent in airport infrastructure ?

Airport is one of the most important infrastructure that have exhibited substantial growth and profits in recent years. Although airport infrastructure represents an important part in the economy of cities, researches have shown that many incidents that have led to flight disruptions have often occurred in airport infrastructure. Also, maintenance cost of airport buildings has increased significantly necessitating a call from professionals to investigate efficient methods of curbing the same. Hence, cost reduction is possible by innovating methods thanks to predictive maintenance techniques, which are based on artificial intelligence. However, working on the innovation of techniques that modernize maintenance in airport buildings is very hard due to the many types of cause incidents that exist. In fact, incidents can be caused due to different reasons (Structural, Electrical, Hydraulic, Computing, Unknown, etc.) This paper tackles this challenge by investigating and identifying the most frequent damages and their origins in airport infrastructure. The result showed that cracks are the most frequent type of damages and that wear is the most frequent origin of incidents in airport infrastructure. Also, it shows that 85,51% of cracks are located in runways. These findings help in better understanding the problem and serve as the point of departure for researchers who are interested in solving it.

Time to pay the piper: Fossil fuel companies’ reparations for climate damages

Time to pay the piper: Fossil fuel companies’ reparations for climate damages

Causes of damages in airport infrastructure

Airports are major economic hubs that have exhibited substantial growth and profits in recent years. Although airport infrastructure represents an important part in the economy of cities, studies have shown that many incidents that have led to flight disruptions have often occurred in airport buildings. Also, maintenance cost of airport buildings has increased significantly necessitating a call from professionals to investigate efficient methods of curbing the same. Hence, cost reduction is possible by innovating methods thanks to predictive maintenance techniques, which are based on artificial intelligence. However, working on the innovation of techniques that modernize maintenance in airport buildings is very hard due to the many types of cause incidents that exist. In fact, incidents can be caused due to different reasons (Structural, Electrical, Hydraulic, Computing, Unknown, etc.) This paper tackles this challenge by investigating and identifying the most frequent damages and their origins in airport infrastructure. The result showed that cracks are the most frequent type of damages and that wear is the most frequent origin of incidents in airport infrastructure. These findings help in better understanding the problem and serve as the point of departure for researchers who are interested in solving it.

Pension Plans in Spain. Profitability Analysis

This article analyses Spanish pension plans, which have had growing trend over the last years. They are considered a complement to the public pensions offered by the social security system, and many companies, especially large ones, set up pension plans for their employees as a measure of corporate social responsibility. The aim of this paper is to describe the pension plan system in Spain and analyse its profitability. For this purpose, the study has focused on the plans offered by financial institutions listed on the IBEX35 in 2022 since they are the most important and, as they have similar characteristics, we avoid comparative bias. The study covers the 5-year period from 2017 to 2021 and analyses the pension plan profitability from different points of view: according to the category of the plan, the management entity and the analysis of the average profitability of each category of the different entities. The results show that equities, mixed equities and mixed fixed income plans, in this order, are the most numerous.They are also the ones that have generated the highest profitability in recent years,in general terms. However,guaranteed income plans are the most stable overtime.Moreover,it is observed that results are similar in the different management companies analised.

Pension plans in Spain. Profitability analysis

This article analyses Spanish pension plans, which have had growing trend over the last years. They are considereda complement to the public pensions offered by the social security system, and many companies, especially largeones, set up pension plans for their employees as a measure of corporate social responsibility. The aim of thispaper is to describe the pension plan system in Spain and analyze its profitability. For this purpose, the study hasfocused on the plans offered by financial institutions listed on the IBEX35 in 2022 since they are the most importantand, as they have similar characteristics, we avoid comparative bias. The study covers the 5-year period from 2017to 2021 and analyses the pension plan profitability from different points of view: according to the category of theplan, the management entity and the analysis of the average profitability of each category of the different entities.The results show that equities, mixed equities and mixed fixed income plans, in this order, are the most numerous.They are also the ones that have generated the highest profitability in recent years, in general terms. However,guaranteed income plans are the most stable over time. Moreover, it is observed that results are similar in thedifferent management companies analyzed.

Assessment of the economic performance of the seabream and seabass aquaculture industry in the European Union

Production of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) and European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is the second most important aquaculture industry in the European Union in value terms. During the last 10 years, the industry has experienced a process of industry concentration with the aim to overcome efficiency and profitability issues. However, the economic performance of the companies is still in general rather poor. The present work analyzes the economic performance of EU seabream and seabass companies in the period 2008–2016. The work is the first study to analyze companies' profitability in the EU as a whole, by country and company size, using economic and financial data extracted from companies’ annual accounts. Based on the results, the study discusses the improvement of production and business profitability in recent years and the different factors that may have caused it, as well as the challenges and threats that seabream and seabass companies will have to face in order to achieve economic sustainability.

The Information Content from Releases of the Deferred Tax Valuation Allowance

ABSTRACTWe examine the extent to which deferred tax valuation allowance (VA) releases—a discretionary accounting judgment that increases net income based on estimated future tax benefit realizations—are predictive of future earnings. We first find that profitable firms releasing at least a portion of a full VA have higher subsequent earnings relative to a control group that maintains a full VA. These results vary depending on firms' cumulative profitability in recent years and suggest some firms appear to rely on historical fact patterns rather than estimations of future profitability to justify the VA release. In additional analysis, we observe that among firms lacking cumulative profits in recent years, VA releasers generate higher subsequent abnormal returns than VA maintainers, suggesting investors are not timely responding to the information content from the VA release decision.

Are UK newspapers really dying? A financial analysis of newspaper publishing companies

ABSTRACTThis research follows on a 2014 study of North American newspapers which examined annual financial reports for publicly traded chains and found that none posted an annual loss on an operating basis between 2006 and 2013. An analysis of UK newspaper company financial reports was thus performed to determine whether predictions of extinction similar to those made in North America are likewise unfounded and to compare their performance. Results showed more variation than in the U.S. and Canada. Most UK newspapers are still profitable, but not as profitable as before. The Times, historically a loss maker, has moved to profitability in recent years with the introduction of a paywall for its online content. The same paywall reduced the advertising revenues of News Corp’s Sun and was thus dropped.

Нова методологія комплексної оцінки конкурентоспроможності ринку страхових послуг України: фактори масштабу і суперництва, тенденції та порівняння

The presented research is dedicated to the of the insurance services of Ukraine (MISU). The authors suggest the indicators of the of the insurance services from the point of view of expansion and influence on macroeconomic indicators and focus on the issues of ensuring the competitive advantages of insurance services providers. The first part of the methodology covers the following points of MISU analysis: 1) the territorial boundaries of the market; 2) the density of insurers and their affiliates in the market; 3) openness of the for foreign players; 4) the importance of the insurance for the formation of GDP; 5) the density of distribution of services in the market; 6) entry and exit barriers for players; 7) the limits of capitalization of insurers. The second part of the methodology covers the following points of MISU analysis: 1) efficiency of the activity; 2) monopolization degree; 3) competition level; 4) integrated competitiveness; 5) imbalance and saturation by players. An approach is applied to MISU analysis for 2005-2017 years. The purpose of the study is to develop a new methodology of integrated assessment of the of MISU in terms of determining the scale factor, the effectiveness of insurance business and competition of players, on the basis of quantitative indicators and comparison of MISU with the insurance markets of other countries. Methodology. The perfection of the competitive interaction of insurers is reflected due to indicators of efficiency, concentration of insurers, Gerfindahl-Hirschman and modified Gini-Shirinyan indexes and disproportions. In order to determine the degree of advantage of set of MISU indicators over the set of indicators of insurance markets of other countries, we introduce relative indicators of competitiveness: in the first part – capitalization excess, scale excess, excess of the density of insurers, excess of insurance penetration, excess of revenues of insurers, growth margin of concentration and assets; in the second part – capitalization excess, excess of the average asset of insurers, effectiveness exceeding for insurance activities, excess of return on equity of insurers, concentration exceeding, excess of the Gerfindahl-Girshman index, excess of imbalances. In the frame of our approach, the comparison of data and quantitative indicators has been done for the national insurance and for countries of the eurozone and the world. The place of MISU at the international level is determined. Such comparison is realized in the context of developed and transition economies. Results. The paper defines the notion competitiveness of the insurance services market and develops an unified method of a comprehensive assessment of the for the insurance in Ukraine. It was substantiated that at a global level and within the eurozone MISU corresponds to a small scale. There are a declining trend (in US dollar) for assets and the insurance penetration, heterogeneity and imbalance of services within the country, the optimal level of openness, high barriers to entry, a large margin of asset growth. It is shown that the bankruptcy of the largest insurer will not be felt to the Ukrainian insurance sector and will not be disruptive to the financial system of Ukraine. It is argued that attractive markets for Ukraine are the insurance markets of counties with transition economies Poland and Turkey. Low values of the profitability in recent years and almost zero efficiency of MISU have been received. It is shown that now non-life insurance is weakly concentrated, the life insurance has overestimated concentration indexes and corresponds to weak competition.

Relative Pricing Efficiency in the ETF Markets Evidence from Pairs Trading

Several studies have demonstrated that pairs trading with single stocks achieved significant excess returns, with decreasing profits in recent years. However, practitioners expanded pairs trading to ETFs. I discuss potential benefits of ETF over stock pairs and compare their risk and return characteristics using NYSE data over a time span of January 2001 to June 2016. I find that like stock pairs, ETF pairs also yield significant excess returns and alphas, albeit at a much lower level, since arbitrage opportunities occur less frequently and are smaller in magnitude. Nevertheless, ETF pairs outperform stock pairs with respect to downside risk, which is due to a smaller share and magnitude of non-converging, loss-making pairs. A sub-period analysis reveals that this is especially the case for recent periods. However, in recent times arbitrage opportunities are scarce for ETF pairs and probably too tiny to cover transaction costs.

Have capital market anomalies attenuated in the recent era of high liquidity and trading activity?

We examine whether the recent regime of increased liquidity and trading activity is associated with attenuation of prominent equity return anomalies due to increased arbitrage. We find that the majority of the anomalies have attenuated and the average returns from a portfolio strategy based on prominent anomalies have approximately halved after decimalization. We provide evidence that hedge fund assets under management, short interest and aggregate share turnover have led to the decline in anomaly-based trading strategy profits in recent years. Overall, our work indicates that policies to stimulate liquidity and ameliorate trading costs improve capital market efficiency.

Benchmarking the performance of Chinese airlines: An investigation of productivity, yield and cost competitiveness

In the past decade, the Chinese airline industry experienced extraordinary growth in size and profitability. However, no quantitative study has investigated the performance of Chinese airlines in terms of productivity and cost competitiveness. This study investigates the leading Chinese airlines' productivity, yield, cost competitiveness and input prices, and benchmarks them against major airlines around the world. It finds that Chinese airlines' productivity has improved significantly in the past decade but still lags behind that of industry leaders. Chinese carriers enjoyed high yields and low input prices in the domestic market, which led to high profitability in recent years. However, their cost advantage has been diminishing. To sustain long-term growth, Chinese airlines need to adopt the industry's best practices in a timely manner. Both the aviation markets and input markets in China should be further liberalized.

Trends in the Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns

We examine whether the recent regime of increased liquidity and trading activity is associated with attenuation of prominent equity return anomalies due to increased arbitrage. We find that the majority of the anomalies have attenuated, and the average returns from a portfolio strategy based on prominent anomalies have approximately halved after decimalization. We provide evidence that hedge fund assets under management, short interest and aggregate share turnover have led to the decline in anomaly-based trading strategy profits in recent years. Overall, our work indicates that policies to stimulate liquidity and ameliorate trading costs improve capital market efficiency.

Long-term analysis of price, productivity, and profitability trends in New Zealand agriculture

Much has been written and spoken over the years about continually declining inflation adjusted commodity prices, the volatility of the New Zealand dollar, and the difficulties of competing against subsidized agricultural sectors. While NZ agriculture has enjoyed good levels of profitability in recent years these underlying forces still remain and will continue to impact farm profitability. Rising land prices and improved productivity of our competitors are likely to erode NZ agriculture's tr aditional position as a low cost producer in the future. The commonly cited responses to the forces outlined above are 1) adding value to commodities, and 2) increasing productivity. An earlier analysis showed that the NZ sheep and beef sector, in particular, was experiencing decreasing prices in real terms and farm productivity had remained largely unchanged for fifty years. In contrast to the data reviewed earlier, this paper shows that over the last fifteen years the NZ agricultural industry has been exhibiting just those responses required to combat the forces above. New Zealand lamb prices have increased in real terms since the late-1980s and in comparison with international prices. Beef and dairy prices have also fallen substantially less than the comparative international price, however wool and wheat prices have fallen more than the international price. In addition, there have been significant increases in farm pr oductivity, most notably lambing percentage, lamb carcass weights, and milksolids production/ cow. The result has been a 57% increase in dairy Earnings Before Inter est and Tax (EBIT) over the past 5 years, compared with the previous half decade (measured in real terms). Sheep farming has experienced a 79% increase in EBIT over the same period. The challenge and subject of significant debate which is outside the scope of this paper is how NZ agriculture is to remain at the forefront of global pastoral agriculture as a low cost, innovative, and profitable sector. Keywords: agricultural productivity, farm profitability, product prices, New Zealand agriculture.

Hospital-physician arrangements and hospital financial performance.

The introduction of the Medicare Prospective Payment System and the more recent rise of managed care plans have greatly increased the importance of effective hospital financial management. Because physicians play a central role in directing hospital resource use, policies to influence physician behavior and to align physician and hospital interests more effectively are being advocated increasingly. This article evaluates the effect of nine strategies to facilitate physician involvement and integration into the hospital on hospital financial performance. Data came primarily from the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission's hospital-physician relations survey of 1,485 hospitals and the Medicare Cost Reports. Both ordinary least squares and first differencing models were used to evaluate the effect of physician integration on hospital financial performance. Hospitals with lower margins and higher costs were more likely to have implemented strategies to integrate physicians and to modify physician behavior than their counterparts. Analysis using first differencing models indicated that making department heads responsible for the profits and losses had a significant positive effect on margins, whereas including medical staff on the hospital's board and offering physicians management services had a significant negative impact on average Medicare costs. In addition the number of strategies implemented was associated positively with financial performance. The paper also emphasizes the importance of model specification in evaluations of hospital-physician arrangements. Changes in hospital-physician relations may have been one reason why hospitals have been relatively successful at containing costs and retaining profitability in recent years. More research needs to be done on which specific arrangements affect hospital financial performance, as well as their effect on the quality of patient care.

Minimal Pruning Influences Vegetative and Reproductive Growth of `Ruby Cabernet' Grapevines

Grape growers in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California are increasingly concerned about production costs. Reduced demand for wine grapes from this district has resulted in low prices and a decline in grower profitability in recent years. Minimal pruning is a low-cost production system that was developed in Australia more than 20 years ago. This system offers complete mechanization of pruning and harvesting. In general, there is little information available on the use of minimal pruning in California vineyards. The propose of the experiment was to compare the effects of hand and minimal pruning on growth, yield, and fruit composition of `Ruby Cabernet' grapevines. This experiment was conducted in a commercial vineyard near Huron, Calif., during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Minimally pruned vines had more shoots and fewer mature nodes than hand-pruned vines. Yield and components of yield were also significantly altered by pruning method. Minimal pruning produced the highest yield and number of clusters, while hand-pruning resulted in larger berry weight, cluster weight, and number of berries per cluster. Pruning method did not significantly affect fruit composition.

Minimal Pruning Influences Vegetative and Reproductive Growth of `Ruby Cabernet' Grapevines

Grape growers in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California are increasingly concerned about production costs. Reduced demand for wine grapes from this district has resulted in low prices and a decline in grower profitability in recent years. Minimal pruning is a low-cost production system that was developed in Australia more than 20 years ago. This system offers complete mechanization of pruning and harvesting. In general, there is little information available on the use of minimal pruning in California vineyards. The propose of the experiment was to compare the effects of hand and minimal pruning on growth, yield, and fruit composition of `Ruby Cabernet' grapevines. This experiment was conducted in a commercial vineyard near Huron, Calif., during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Minimally pruned vines had more shoots and fewer mature nodes than hand-pruned vines. Yield and components of yield were also significantly altered by pruning method. Minimal pruning produced the highest yield and number of clusters, while hand-pruning resulted in larger berry weight, cluster weight, and number of berries per cluster. Pruning method did not significantly affect fruit composition.

Hospital strategy and financial performance

Five archetype strategies are studied involving productivity, diversification, or a hybrid approach. Manager opinions, staffing ratios, and profitability data bring the strategy effectiveness issue into perspective. Hospitals employing the productivity/defender strategy, specializing in fewer product lines, experienced less decline in profitability in recent years. Excess diversification appears to exhibit the most rapid declines in profitability.