Canadian Industry Statistics (CIS)
SME Benchmarking
Utilities (NAICS 22)
Under this topic you will find information on average revenues, expenses and
profits for small and medium-sized businesses in Canada's Utilities
(NAICS 22) sector. The data used for this topic were
obtained through the
SME Benchmarking
Tool. You can use this information to see how your business measures up to
the competition.
Total revenues include revenues from the sale of goods and services,
interest, dividends, commissions, rent and other sources of revenues. They
exclude capital gains or losses, extraordinary gains or losses and equity in
net income of related parties.
The average total annual revenues for small and medium-sized businesses in
the Utilities sector were $464.6 thousand in 2010.
For profitable firms, average revenues were $446.2 thousand and
for non-profitable firms, average revenues were $557.1
thousand.
Profitable vs. Non-profitable businesses: 2010
Utilities (NAICS 22)
Industry Average |
Profitable |
Non-profitable |
Total |
|
|
Percent of
businesses |
83.4% |
16.6% |
100.0% |
Total Revenues ($
thousands) |
446.2 |
557.1 |
464.6 |
Total Expenses ($
thousands) |
361.5 |
1180.2 |
497.2 |
Net Profit/Loss ($
thousands) |
84.7 |
-623.1 |
-32.6 |
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Average total expenses for small and medium-sized businesses in the Utilities
sector were $497.2 thousand in 2010. For profitable firms,
average total expenses were $361.5 thousand and for non-profitable
firms, average total expenses were $1.2 million.
Expenses can be divided into two main types: cost of sales (or direct
expenses) and operating expenses (or indirect expenses).
Breakdown of Total Expenses: 2010
Percentage of Total Revenues
Utilities (NAICS 22)
Cost of sales refers to costs related to the principal activity of the
business. Examples of these direct expenses include the materials used to
manufacture a product or deliver a service and the labour costs associated with
the production of the product or delivery of a service.
The average value of cost of sales items for the Utilities sector are
outlined in the table below. The cost of sales itself is calculated by adding
wages and benefits, purchases, materials and sub-contracts, and opening
inventory and then subtracting closing inventory.
Cost of Sales: 2010
Utilities (NAICS 22)
Expense Item |
Value in $
thousands |
% of Total
Revenues |
|
|
Wages and
benefits |
18.4 |
4.0 |
Purchases, materials and
sub-contracts |
151.5 |
32.6 |
Opening inventory |
14.3 |
3.1 |
Closing inventory |
17.0 |
3.7 |
| |
Cost of sales (direct
expenses) |
167.2 |
36.0 |
Operating expenses refer to all expenses not directly related to the
principal activity of the business. Examples of these indirect expenses include
labour charges for support staff, rent expenses, and charges for advertising
and promotion activities.
The average value of operating expense items for the Utilities sector
are outlined in the table below.
Operating Expenses: 2010
Utilities (NAICS 22)
Expense Item |
Value in $
thousands |
% of Total
Revenues |
|
|
Labour and
commissions |
92.8 |
20.0 |
Amortization and
depletion |
30.9 |
6.6 |
Repairs and
maintenance |
15.1 |
3.3 |
Utilities and
telephone/telecommunication |
8.1 |
1.7 |
Rent |
11.5 |
2.5 |
Interest and bank
charges |
30.8 |
6.6 |
Professional and business
fees |
23.4 |
5.0 |
Advertising and
promotion |
4.4 |
0.9 |
Delivery, shipping and
warehouse expenses |
1.0 |
0.2 |
Insurance |
4.9 |
1.1 |
Other expenses |
107.1 |
23.1 |
| |
Operating Expenses
(indirect expenses) |
330.0 |
71.0 |
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Net profit/loss is the profit or loss resulting from normal business
operations, recorded before income taxes, extraordinary items and other income
not related to normal operations. For unincorporated firms, the owners' or
partners' salaries and withdrawals are included.
The percentage of small and medium-sized businesses that were profitable in
the Utilities sector in 2010 was 83.4%, with 16.6%
of firms failing to turn a profit.
Percentage of Profitable Firms: 2010
Utilities (NAICS 22)
The average annual net profit/loss for small and medium-sized businesses in
the Utilities sector was $-32.6 thousand in 2010, which
represented -7.0% of total revenues for small and medium-sized
businesses in the sector.
For profitable firms, the average annual net profit was $84.7
thousand and for non-profitable firms, average net loss was $-0.6
million.
The gross margin for the Utilities sector was 64.0% in 2010.
Gross margin is calculated as (total revenue - cost of sales) / (total
revenue) * 100. This percentage provides a relative measure of profitability or
profit margin.
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The data in this section come from Statistics Canada’s Small Business Profiles which are
produced using a sample of tax returns filed by incorporated and unincorporated
businesses with the Canada Revenue Agency. The data appearing in this section
are based on tax data from 2010. The data were obtained through Industry
Canada's SME Benchmarking Tool.
In this section, small and medium-sized businesses are defined as those
having annual revenues between $30,000 and $5,000,000.
The SME Benchmarking Tool
provides more in-depth data for small and medium-sized businesses than what is
offered here. Included among its features are options to:
- view statistics by province,
- view statistics by business type (incorporated, unincorporated or all
businesses),
- segment the industry based upon revenue levels (which allows you to compare
the performance of your business to averages for firms of a comparable revenue
level),
- view balance sheet data, and
- view up to 12 financial ratios.