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Key figures

Return on sales

= (operating profit * 100 / turnover) = x % 

  • Key figure shows the return on operating activities (excluding financial assets and taxes)
  • Indicator of a company's earning power
  • The higher the better!

 

Personnel costs as a percentage of gross profit

= (personnel costs * 100) / (gross profit) = x % 

  • Key figure showing how much personnel costs are required to achieve value creation in the company
  • If this key figure is not within the benchmark range, this often leads to a negative company result
  • The lower the better!

 

Gross profit per employee

= (gross profit / full-time employees) = x £ per employee

  • "Do we have too many employees?"
  • Indicator of company productivity
  • Highly automated companies achieve significantly better results
  • Full-time equivalents (FTEs) are used to indicate the number of full-time employees
  • The higher the better!

 

Personnel costs per employee

= (personnel costs / full-time employees) = x £ per employee 

  • "Are our employees too expensive?"
  • Key figure shows the average personnel costs including statutory contributions per employee
  • The full-time equivalent (FTE) is used to indicate the number of full-time employees
  • The lower the better!

 

Gross profit/employee – personnel costs/employee

= (gross profit – personnel costs) / full-time employees = x £ per employee 

  • This key figure shows how much added value per employee remains for the company after deducting personnel costs – all other costs (such as depreciation, rent, insurance, etc.) must be covered by this amount.
  • The higher, the better!

 

Equity ratio/base

= (equity * 100) / (balance sheet total) = x %

  • A reference point for understanding the composition of capital
  • Indicator of risk and creditworthiness, i.e. financial reliability of a company
  • A high equity ratio indicates a high level of security for lenders
  • The higher, the better!

 

Gross profit margin  

= (gross profit * 100) / (turnover) = x % 

  • Key figure showing the proportion of own performance (after deduction of materials and purchased services) generated within the company
  • A measure of value added within the company 
  • Key figure showing the amount of materials used in relation to total output 
  • The higher the better!