A Comparison between Ratios with Economic and Financial Approach for Micro (MES) and Small / Medium Sized Enterprises (SMES) in Meat Processing Industry

The aim of the research is to evaluate the differences between economic and financial results in a sample of micro enterprises (MEs) and small / medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the industry of processing pork meat in Italy applying ratio analysis. These firms operate in an industry characterized by high capital intensity and long processing period; these characteristics can amplify the differences in economic and financial results. In order to offer a comparison in applying economic and financial approaches, we calculate 11 ratios of which 7 are sustainability ratios (3 calculated with economic approach and 4 with financial approach) and 4 are interest coverage ratios (2 calculated with economic approach and 2 with financial approach). The article highlights two main aspects: first, ratios calculated in MEs and SMEs firms have statistically different results; second, ratios calculated with economic and financial approach have different results, both in MEs and SMEs firms. The approach proposed in the article can then be used to analyze firms operating in other sectors, mainly characterized by high capital intensity, high capital investment in fixed assets, long production cycle and long time debt collection.