Source : National Bank of Belgium (data from the Central Balance Sheet Office)
A healthy financial situation is crucial for a sustainable industry. In the chemicals and life sciences industry, the return on shareholders’ investment has amounted to an average of 6,9% over the last 10 years. This ratio is structurally higher than the risk-free return on long-term government bonds.
Profitability can be assessed by net income returned as a percentage of shareholders’ equity; i.e. the return to shareholders after the deduction of all costs and taxes. This ratio measures how well a company uses the capital invested by its shareholders, and the return on equity should be structurally higher than the return on long-term government bonds. The difference is called the risk premium.
