Profitability of the Italian farming companies and the impact of financial crisis: a quantitative research using accounting data

The paper aims to reach a better understanding of the effects of the worst post-war economic crisis on the primary sector. It analyses profitability behaviour starting from the observation of some general economic elements and then focusing on the evolution of the main profitability indicators in a sample of farming, breeding, and mixed activity companies. The study is focused on the Italian case. A sample survey was conducted using the income statement analysis approach. With the base year of 2008 (the year of the crisis), the extraction dates cover an eight-year period from 2008 to 2015. The research uses the logic of the analysis of variance to test the assumptions of different profitability behaviours in the sub-sectors of the primary sector. It is shown that the years of the crisis are often characterised by high incomes. The performance worsens but not as much as that of the other economic sectors and - above all - the effects of the general economic cycle are felt with some delay, probably due to the greater rigidity of the supply and demand for agri-food goods connected to the primary sector.