Profitability of UK companies: April to June 2025

• The annual net rate of return for private non-financial corporations (PNFCs) remained at 10.3% in 2024, unchanged from 2023; in Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025, the rate was consistent with the estimate for Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2025, at 10.0%. 

• The net rate of return for UK continental shelf (UKCS) companies fell to negative 2.6% in 2024, down from 2.0% in 2023; it was negative 2.9% in Quarter 2 2025 compared with negative 0.9% in Quarter 1 2025.

• The net rate of return for the manufacturing sector increased in 2024, rising to 11.7% from 11.3% in 2023; it increased by 0.4 percentage points to 11.8% in Quarter 2 2025, up from 11.4% in Quarter 1 2025. 

• The net rate of return for the services sector was unchanged at 15.2% in 2024, compared with 2023; it increased to 15.2% in Quarter 2 2025, up from 14.8% in Quarter 1 2025.

• Recent falls in the net rate of return for UKCS companies are likely to be partly because of falls in oil prices; however, there is some uncertainty around the data for the most recent time periods, as explained in Section 4: Data sources and quality.

Private non-financial corporations 

Private non-financial corporations (PNFCs) comprise UK continental shelf (UKCS) companies and other non-financial UK (non-UKCS) companies. Non-UKCS companies are further split into manufacturing companies, companies providing non-financial services, and other industries including construction, electricity and gas supply, agriculture, and mining and quarrying. 

Net rate of return 

Net rate of return is used as the measurement of company profitability throughout this bulletin. The rate of return is calculated as the economic gain (profit) shown as a percentage of the capital used in production. "Net" refers to the rate of return after having accounted for the current value of capital consumed and capital stocks. "Capital consumed" refers to the decline in the current value in the stock of fixed assets (for example, because of depreciation). Gross rates of return are available in the accompanying dataset. 

UK continental shelf 

The UKCS is the area where the UK claims mineral rights beyond the territorial waters. Because of the nature of the industry, UKCS companies tend to be very capital-intensive and so require high levels of capital investment to operate. They also report high levels of depreciation of their fixed assets. The net rate of return for UKCS companies is not directly comparable with those for other sectors. 

Gross operating surplus 

The gross operating surplus (GOS) of PNFCs is a component of the income approach to measuring gross domestic product (GDP). GOS consists of gross trading profits, plus income from rental of buildings, less inventory-holding gains (changes in inventory value caused by price).

Quality 

We calculate profitability statistics using estimates of the gross operating surplus (GOS) of private non-financial corporations (PNFCs) as the starting point. We apply balancing adjustments to these PNFC GOS figures before publication, like all gross domestic product (GDP) estimates. This process ensures consistency across income, expenditure, and production measures when compiling GDP, as explained in our Recent challenges of balancing the three approaches of GDP article.

Published PNFC GOS data may be revised in line with our National Accounts Revisions Policy. We often apply them retrospectively when new or improved methods for measuring PNFC GOS or other GDP components are introduced. This approach avoids abrupt changes and maintains comparability and data quality over time. 

Balancing adjustments and ongoing revisions are indicators of uncertainty. Larger adjustments or revisions mean caution should be taken when using PNFC GOS or UK company profitability estimates for analysis or decision-making. However, some revisions reduce uncertainty by incorporating better methods, standards, or data sources. In such cases, we provide detailed explanations of the changes. 

More quality and methodology information 

More quality and methodology information (QMI) on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our Profitability of UK companies QMI. 

Our Quarterly sector accounts bulletin includes estimates of national production, income and expenditure, UK sector accounts, and the UK balance of payments.

Revisions 

Revisions to PNFCs data, dating back to Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 1997, mainly reflect updates to capital stock and fixed capital consumption estimates in both the services and manufacturing sectors. These revisions are published in our Blue Book 2025 Supplementary tables, and align with the balanced national accounts data. This means that revisions to individual components will only appear once they are incorporated into the national accounts.