Background: A trend of constructing new stadiums has emerged in Sweden during the 2000s. Since the turn of the century more than 50 stadiums has been constructed and currently further stadiums are being developed. Several cities invest in a new stadium, with the purpose of creating value for the society and for marketing the city. The investment creates benefits, but the effects are usually hard to measure. However, the annual economical result of a stadium that has been in operation during a time period is clear, which has led to extensive discussions about the economic losses that usually occurs. Problem: The problem of constructing new stadiums is the investment cost, which is expensive and often financed by the taxpayers. The construction cost is high, but another problem is the operating cost that often exceeds the economic calculations. Critics argue that the investments of stadiums are a waste of the taxpayers’ money that could have been used for other public service, for example health care, education and elderly care. Question formulation: The purpose of this master thesis is to analyze the economic profitability for six stadiums in Sweden, for finding common success factors and factors that affects the stadiums economy negative. The intention is to analyze why some stadiums has performed better economical results than others. Method: To investigate the profitability of stadiums a literature study has been performed to describe previous research regarding market conditions, budgeting and overrun costs, ownership and financing options and the stadium’s profitability. Subsequently, a case study has been carried out, including Friends Arena, Gamla Ullevi, Sparbanken Skåne Arena, Saab Arena, Sparbanken Lidköping Arena and Göransson Arena. These stadiums have been selected based on geographical aspects, as they are located in larger cities, medium cities and small cities. Result and conclusion: According to this analysis Saab Arena and Sparbanken Lidköping Arena have reached the most profitable results. The paper concludes three success factors; a stadium should be constructed in an area with low competition regarding events. A project requires careful planning with unbiased and realistic assumptions of the economic calculations. The result gets better with funding from private companies and with sponsors for name rights. Finally, this study indicates that good economical results can be achieved, however it requires responsible decision makers who has great knowledge in the area of constructing stadiums. / Bakgrund: Under 2000-talet har en trend uppstått i Sverige angående arenainvesteringar. Sedan sekelskiftet har fler än 50 arenor konstruerats och för närvarande pågår ytterligare arenaprojekt som både är i planerings- och konstruktionsfasen. Många städer beslutar att investera i en ny arena för att skapa mervärde för samhället och för att marknadsföra staden. Arenor skapar därmed flera fördelar, men effekterna är vanligtvis svåra att mäta. De årliga ekonomiska resultaten för arenor som har varit i drift under en tidsperiod är däremot tydliga, vilket har lett till kritik och omfattande debatter om arenornas ekonomiska förluster. Problematik: Problemet med att upprätta nya arenor är att det är dyra investeringar som många gånger finansieras med skattemedel. Det är inte bara konstruktionskostnaden som anses hög, utan även driftkostnaderna brukar överstiga de ekonomiska kalkylerna. Kritiker menar att arenainvesteringar är ett slöseri med skattmedel som istället kan användas inom annan offentlig verksamhet såsom vård, skola och äldreomsorg. Frågeställning: Syftet med denna masteruppsats är att analysera den ekonomiska lönsamheten för sex utvalda arenor i Sverige, för att finna gemensamma framgångsfaktorer samt faktorer som påverkar arenornas ekonomi negativt. Avsikten är att analysera varför en del arenor når bättre ekonomiska resultat än andra. Metod: För att undersöka arenors lönsamhet har en litteraturstudie genomförts för att beskriva tidigare forskning inom områdena marknadsförutsättningar, budgetering och överskridande kostnader, ägande och finansieringsalternativ samt arenans lönsamhet. Därefter har en fallstudie genomförts som inkluderar Friends Arena, Gamla Ullevi, Sparbanken Skåne Arena, Saab Arena, Sparbanken Lidköping Arena och Göransson Arena. Dessa arenor valdes på grund av geografiska aspekter då de är belägna i storstäder, mellanstora städer och mindre städer. Resultat och slutsats: Enligt denna analys har Saab Arena och Sparbanken Lidköping Arena nått de mest lönsamma resultaten. Slutsatsen med denna studie är tre framgångsfaktorer; En arena ska konstrueras i ett område med låg konkurrens om evenemang. Det krävs en noggrann planering med opartiska och realistiska ekonomiska kalkyler. Bättre ekonomiskt resultat nås genom finansiering från privata bolag och sponsorer för namnrättigheter. Slutligen visar denna studie på att goda ekonomiska resultat kan uppnås, men det kräver ansvarsfulla beslutsfattare med stor kunskap inom området.

There are many functions of the financial system, with the basic function of transferring loanable funds from lender to borrowers (Rose et al, 1995). This financial transaction can be carried out directly or semi directly between lenders and borrowers. The shortcomings of direct and semi direct financing have opened doors for a third method—financial intermediation, which is done by financial intermediaries. Commercial bank is the classic example of financial intermediary at work. To achieve the goal of owners’ wealth maximization, banks should manage their assets, liabilities, and capital efficiently. In doing this, the bank should be conscious of the gap or spread between the interest income and the interest expenses paid, which is called net interest income (NII). Net interest income is a major part of banks’ profit, this is basically why the financial intermediaries try to offer lowest returns to savers and lend funds to borrowers at the highest possible interest rates. It is measured as net interest margin (NIM), which is NII divided by the average earning assets. This study examines the interest rate sensitivity of commercial banks’ interest profitability (Net Interest Margin) and net worth at the theoretical level and attempt to measure empirically the extent to which the interest profitability and net worth of commercial banks have been affected during the period of changing interest rates between 2001 and 2010. It as well measures the extent to which the factors that determine interest rate movement affect interest rate and which of the factors has more effect on interest rate. The measure of profitability captures the essence of lend-long borrow-short without directly including other determinants of bank income, such as loan loss and loan volume, which may be correlated with interest rates. It is also important to note that NIM is not a measure of total banks’ profits since it does not include non-interest income and expenses. A software package stata 10.0 was used to conduct the hypothesis testing, trend, and correlation analysis. The sampled banks are fourteen commercial banks and one investment bank in South Africa. The sampled banks were later divided into two groups (big and small), based on their assets size as at the year-end 2010. There are five (5) big banks with asset size of more than R100 billion and ten (10) small banks with asset size of less than R100 billion iii as at the year-end 2010. Analysis was further carried out separately on both the big and small banks to see the effect of interest rate fluctuations on them. Data required by the model was obtained from annual financial statements of the sampled banks for the period of ten years. It was found that fluctuations on interest rate (repo rate) affect the profit of commercial banks, but this effect is huge on small banks than the big banks. As the repo rate increases, the profit of commercial banks increases. Such effect of repo rate on profit of commercial banks was found to be statistically significant. It was also found that interest rate changes as well affect the net worth of commercial banks. The macroeconomic factors the determine the interest rates do not have direct effect on the banks’ profit, but have significant effect on the banks’ net worth, especially that of the small banks. As the rate of inflation, the rate of money supply, and uncertainty increase, the net worth of the small commercial banks in South Africa also increase. It could be advised that to maximize owners’ equity, South African commercial banks (big and small) should concentrate more on forecasting and controlling the determinants of the interest rates, rather than the interest rates themselves. It was also found that among the internal factors affecting profit and net worth of commercial banks, the liquidity ratio is most significant relative to capital ratio, competition, and non-performing loan.

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2012. / This study analyses data for the top ten listed real-estate firms in South Africa to examine the relationships that exist between Internal Liquidity, Capital Structure and Firm Profitability. The ten firms under study represent 79% of the industry by market capitalisation. Other than in six unique cases out of the thirty regressions run, results show that there is little relationship between the variables. These six however, all fall within the test of Internal Liquidity on the firm’s Capital Structure. Results indicate that the level of Internal Liquidity has explanatory power on the level of debt used by the listed real-estate firm. Interestingly, results also show that the market’s perception of a listed real-estate firm is independent of its capital structure and its cash on hand. It is further implied that firms in South Africa with property as the majority asset, are under-geared as a result. This study supports the stakeholder co-investment theory to explain the low average debt levels in South Africa.

The failure rate of leadership achieving profitability targets is estimated to be as high as 60%. Many organizations fail to meet profitability targets due to a lack of expertise and insight into strategic leadership skills. The objective of this single case study was to explore the role of strategic leadership in healthcare organization profitability in the United States. Five senior healthcare executives from Georgia with at least 15 years of expertise in the healthcare sector and 10 years in senior leadership were chosen to participate in the study. Purposeful sampling was used to identify the participants. The resource-based view framed the discussion on strategic leadership skills needed to stimulate healthcare profitability. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with open-ended questions to elicit in-depth responses from the study participants. Social media and company websites were also reviewed as additional data sources. Thematic analysis was used in the data analysis. Seven themes emerged from the analysis of data: leadership factor, human capital development, flexibility, managing financial resources, market expansion, customer satisfaction, and standardization. These findings may benefit senior healthcare leaders in Georgia and be the catalyst to social change by improving healthcare profitability in the United States, stimulating a growth in employment, and creating employment opportunities.

No description available.

Through the use of a stochastic simulation model this project analyzes both the impacts of the expanding biofuels sector on water demand in selected regions of the United States and variations in the profitability of ethanol production due to location differences. Changes in consumptive water use in the Texas High Plains, Southern Minnesota, and the Central Valley of California, as impacted by current and proposed grain-based ethanol plants were addressed. In addition, this research assesses the potential impacts of technologies to reduce consumptive water use in the production of ethanol in terms of water usage and the economic viability of each ethanol facility. This research quantifies the role of corn ethanol production on water resource availability and identifies the alternative water pricing schemes at which ethanol production is no longer profitable. The results of this research show that the expansion of regional ethanol production and the resulting changes in the regional agricultural landscapes do relatively little to change consumptive water usage in each location. The California Central Valley has the highest potential for increased water usage with annual water usage in 2017 at levels 15% higher than historical estimates, whereas Southern Minnesota and the Texas High Plains are predicted to have increases of less than 5% during the same time period. Although water use by ethanol plants is extremely minor relative to consumptive regional agricultural water usage, technological adaptations by ethanol facilities have the potential to slightly reduce water usage and prove to be economically beneficial adaptations to make. The sensitivity of net present value (NPV) with respect to changes in water price is shown to be extremely inelastic, indicating that ethanol producers have the ability to pay significantly more for their fresh water with little impact on their 10 year economic performance.

The usual theoretical assumption that the retailer's promotional activities serve the purpose of attracting customers into stores lacks empirical verification. The relationship between promotional activity and customer count is examined empirically in just a few studies, and no significantly positive association is found. This dissertation is a comprehensive empirical study of a unique time series cross section dataset, which contains scanner data representing 28 product categories in a large supermarket chain over two and a half year long period. The main result of this dissertation is that retailer's promotional activities are positively related to customer count. Two constructed measures of the promotional activity have a positive significant effect on store traffic that is comparable with the customer count effect of an average holiday. Some 55 percent of the positive long-run promotional activity effect is felt immediately, and the remaining 45 percent is spread over a five week long period. The promotions have prolonged effects that last until the next promotional peak -€“ the next holiday. It is also found that promotional discounts have positive and significant effect on store profit.

The purpose of this study is to estimate the effect of Ontario’s Nutrient Management Act (NMA) on farm level profitability of dairy sector. NMA came into force in 2003 and sets standards for the storage and handling of nutrients for regulating farms that fit certain criteria to reduce the risk of nutrients entering surface water or groundwater, especially for farms with herd size that can produce Nutrient Units above a certain level (i.e. 300 Nutrient Units). While the Act may affect its regulated farms by incorporating additional compliance costs, it may not have the same effect on unregulated farms. Increase in the weighted-average production costs of all farms may lead to elevated milk price within a national cost of production (COP) pricing formula for dairy industry. A theoretical framework that describes the pathway by which farms’ economic performance can be affected by NMA is developed in this study. To empirically test whether NMA has effect on farm level profitability, a RE model is estimated by using the unbalanced panel data from Ontario Dairy Farm Accounting Project (ODFAP) from year 2000 to 2010. The empirical results of this study indicate that NMA may not have statistically significant effect on the profitability of regulated farms with no less than 300 Nutrient Units (NUs). A discussion is further developed to take into consideration factors that may affect this empirical results. / OMAFRA funding code: 200222

This research undertakes a contingency theory examination of strategy and cost system alignment based on customer retention and customer profitability analysis. Previous research and consultancy advice has promoted the benefits of a firm following a customer retention strategy. They claim that in order to support the strategy a firm should have a customer profitability analysis system in place. Yet often what is prescribed as good practice is not observed in firms. This inconsistency is explained using contingency theory. Initial qualitative evidence was collected from four industry sites to determine whether the above strategy-cost system alignment was present. An analysis of these findings suggested that the customer retention-customer profitability analysis system relationship was contingent on a range of factors. As a result, a contingent theory of this relationship was developed from the four sites, and this theory was then tested in a survey of 862 people from 431 firms. The survey results provide support for the propositions developed from the qualitative evidence. It is likely that firms will follow multiple operational marketing strategies and have cost management systems in place to support those strategies. Although customer retention is a very important operational marketing strategy, a significant number of firms do not have customer profitability analysis systems in place to support the strategy. Many contingent factors were identified. Customer profitability analysis implementation is dependent on industry type; size; the difficulties involved in determining customer costs; whether the organisation has a champion for the system; the relationship between the marketing and accounting functions in a firm; and the available labour resources to facilitate implementation. Further, it is apparent that customer profitability analysis information is not essential to support a customer retention strategy. Customer revenue information can be substituted and the firms are satisfied with the level of management accounting system support for their operational marketing strategies. However, many respondents see the value of customer revenue, customer cost and customer profitability information, providing opportunities for future design of such systems as well as research into their development.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2009.