The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial performance of authorized car dealers in Croatia

Analiza financijskih izvještaja integralni je dio poslovne analize. Važnost analize financijskih izvještaja razmatra se u prvom redu s aspekta upravljanja poslovanjem i razvojem poduzeća. Ona prethodi procesu upravljanja ili, preciznije, prethodi procesu planiranja koji čini sastavni dio upravljanja. Odgovore na brojna pitanja pružaju financijski izvještaji koje je potrebno razumjeti i znati „čitati“, a analizom financijskih izvještaja utvrđuje se „zdravlje“ poslovanja poduzeća. Prethodne, 2020.godine, cijeli svijet je zahvatila pandemija COVID-19 koja je sa sobom donijela izazove za brojne industrije i poduzeća. Između ostaloga ti izazovi su dotakli i automobilsku industriju, a samim time i ovlaštene prodavače automobila. Kao jedan od mnogih izazova je ograničenje poslovanja, što u prijevodu znači zatvaranje trgovina koje ne prodaju nužne proizvode. Budući da automobili ne pripadaju skupini nužne robe, njihova prodaja obično ima relativno veliki pad u uvjetima krize, a rad odgovara je li to doista tako i u ovom primjeru. Osim pandemije COVID-19, izazov za automobilsku industriju je prelazak od motora s unutarnjim izgaranjem na elektromotore. U pojedinim zemljama automobilska industrija je pokretač rasta te bi tranzicija u narednim godinama snažno mogla utjecati na daljnje poslovanje. Kao predmet istraživačkog dijela diplomskog rada provedena je analiza financijskih izvještaja dva odabrana ovlaštena prodavača automobila i utvrđen razmjer problema koje je uzrokovala kriza. Analizom je obuhvaćeno razdoblje od tri godine, a to su 2018., 2019. i 2020. godina, s tim da je fokus na kriznoj 2020. godini. Analiza je provedena u okviru dva poduzeća, a to su JOLLY AUTOline d.o.o. i C AUTOMOBIL IMPORT d.o.o. Za potrebe analize korišteni su instrumenti horizontalne i vertikalne analize, financijski pokazatelji te DuPontov sustav pokazatelja. Na kraju istraživačkog dijela zaključuje se uspješnost poslovanja odabranih poduzeća.Financial statement analysis is an integral part of business analysis. The importance of financial statement analysis is observed primarily from the aspects of business management and enterprise development. It precedes the management process or, more precisely, precedes the planning process, which is an integral part of management. As long as they are understood and properly “read“, financial statements provide answers to many major questions, while the financial statement analysis determines the “health“ of the company's business. In the previous year of 2020, the entire world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing with it many challenges for industries and companies to overcome. Among others, these challenges have affected the automotive industry, including authorized car dealers. One of the many hurdles they had to overcome was the restriction of business, which meant the closure of nonessential stores. Since automobiles do not belong to the group of essential goods, their sales usually face a relatively large decline during times of crisis. This paper will answer the question, as to whether this is also the case in the chosen example, as well. Besides the COVID-19 pandemic, another challenge the automotive industry has to face is the transition from internal combustion engines to electric motors. In some countries, the automotive industry is the driving force of the economy, and as such, the transition could have a strong impact on further business during the coming years. The research section of this thesis covers the financial statements of two selected authorized car dealers, which were subjected to analysis, as to determine the extent of the problems caused by the crisis. The analysis covers a period of three years, namely 2018, 2019 and 2020, with the focus being on the crisis year of 2020. The analysis was conducted within two companies, JOLLY AUTOline Ltd. and C AUTOMOBIL IMPORT Ltd. The analysis was performed using the instruments of horizontal and vertical analysis, financial indicators and the DuPont indicator system. At the end of the research section, the financial performance of the selected companies is concluded