The fixed costs of your credit

Capital goods, paper, and metals and mining companies realize their respective profit peaks at the later stages of an economic expansion as they produce goods and services whose demand is closely tied to economic activity. Additionally business peak cycles are accompanied by inflation as demand exceeds supply and for example, basic material industries experience higher profit margins in this environment because their production costs are not significantly affected by inflation and, on the other side, they can increase prices for the finished products. Industries with a high operating leverage benefit as well because their costs are fixed in nominal terms and revenues increase with inflation. The fixed costs in a company’s operating structure determine the operating leverage. Generally, it can be said that industries with a high fixed cost base and high inventory costs, for example, the paper and the aluminum industry, are always under pressure to keep capacity utilization rates high because decreasing capacity utilization rates will have an immediate adverse effect on profitability.

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