OREANDA-NEWS  On 07 October was announced, that the share of loss-making companies in Belarus decreased to 7.6% of the total number as of August 1, 2008 from 13.2% as of August 1, 2007.

The average return on sales in January-July 2008 was at 15.8%, up from 13.2% in January-July 2007.

In industry, the share of loss-makers was at 13% as of August 1, 2008, down 6.6 percentage points from last year. The average profitability of industrial enterprises amounted to 18.6% in January-July 2008, up from 13.1% in January-July 2007.

In agriculture, the share of loss-making enterprises was at 1.1% as of August 1, 2008, down from 2.7%. The profitability of sales rose to 8.6% from 7%.

The share of loss-makers in the transport sector, including pipeline transport, stood at 6.8% as of August 1, 2008, down from 11.7% as of August 1, 2007. The profitability of transport services decreased 2.9 percentage points on the year to 15.9%.

In construction, there were 8.6% of loss-makers as of August 1, 2008 compared to 14.5% as of the same date in 2007. The profitability of the construction sector in the period stood at 11.2%, up from 8.9% as of August 1, 2007.

The share of loss-making enterprises in the communication sector stood at 2.7% as of August 1, 2008, down 4 percentage points from August 1, 2007. The profitability of communication companies rose 0.7 percentage points to 17.6%.

Belneftekhim’s profitability went up to 35.2% from 14.9%.