Do companies that generate profits make economic value added?

Abstract

This paper focuses on determining the differences between economic value added (EVA), net operating profit after tax (NOPAT), earnings before interest and taxes (EBITDA), and net income or loss for non-financial business entities operating in the Republic of Croatia in the period 2002–2021. The main objective of this paper is to determine whether non-financial activities create economic value added, and rank them according to selected indicators based on EVA. Research results indicate that there were only 27 out of 309 cases where EVA was positive, indicating that only the information and communication sector generated, on average, positive EVA during this twenty-year period. Positive EVA was generated in certain years in companies conducting human health and social work activities, education, mining, and quarrying, as well as in wholesale and retail trade activities, but the average EVA for this twenty-year period in these sectors was negative. At the same time, net income was achieved in 246 cases, and NOPAT in 285. Meanwhile, EBITDA was positive in all cases, demonstrating an obvious discrepancy between EVA and other financial performance measures. Correlation analysis results indicate that there is a statistically significant moderate correlation between EVA and net income/loss, although the correlation is generally stronger between EVA and EBITDA-based indicators. According to research results, the answer to the question in the title of this paper is negative, emphasizing the possibilities of intensive introduction of EVA as a financial performance indicator.