Parma Pdo Ham sector is characterized by the great presence of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and by high absorption of capital to finance investments in fixed assets and working capital. The aging of pork leg causes in fact a high capital requirements for a period of at least 12 months and even 18/24 months. In that case, economic analysis and financial analysis may show different results, since situations of non-financial sustainability even in case of positive profitability. The paper covers the methodology for the analysis of the profitability and sustainability of firm management and suggests specific indices to analyze the firms of the sector. The analysis show that there is a statistically significant difference between economic and financial results in the sector and the application of financial ratios proposed in the paper can better assess the sustainability of management. These ratios can find applications even in other sectors characterized by high capital absorption, particularly net working capital.
Evidence of an 'Energy-Management Gap' in U.S. Manufacturing: Spillovers from Firm Management Practices to Energy Efficiency