Financial break-even point and indicator of devaluation of own capital of agro-industrial complex enterprises

The agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation occupies a special place in ensuring the food security of the country, which makes it relevant to study the issues of a real increase in the equity capital of the relevant enterprises. As an indicator of its depreciation, the indicator of return on equity is considered, the value of which must be compared with the parameters of factors that reduce the real value of such capital: inflation, devaluation of the national currency, opportunity costs (losses) from choosing the worst use case, and income tax at a conditionally zero level of real profitability. The financial break-even point is proposed to be considered as such a volume of activity in which the value of return on equity shows the feasibility of business, taking into account inflation and devaluation of the national currency, as well as possible alternatives for the use of capital. The impossibility of achieving it in the long term makes investment in the business inappropriate. It has been determined that over the past 22 years, the average statistical losses from inflation and income tax at a conditionally zero real level of return on equity corresponded to a value of 11.69%. To ensure the preservation of the real value of such capital, its profitability at the enterprises of the agro-industrial complex had to exceed the specified value. Over the specified period of time, the inflation rate in the country exceeded the rate of devaluation of the national currency, which makes it possible to use inflation as a benchmark for the depreciation of equity capital. An analysis of the actual value of the return on equity for the period 2017-2021 for agribusiness enterprises showed that, in general, this indicator exceeded the value of 11.69%. Thus, over a long period of time, the main activity of enterprises in the agro-industrial complex provided their owners with a real increase in capital. It is possible that such a level of profitability was provided at the expense of financial state assistance to the considered sector.