As the foundries' costs of production remained stable, their weighted average profitability increased from 4,4 % in 1997 to 7,4 % in 1998. Furthermore, it has to be borne in mind that the foundries have to cope with fluctuations in their main cost items such as prices of scrap, namely the main raw material used in the production of cast iron, as well as fluctuations in exchange rates.
Ker so proizvodni stroški livarn ostali nespremenljivi, se je njihovo tehtano povprečje donosnosti povečalo s 4,4 % v letu 1997 na 7,4 % v letu 1998. Poleg tega se je treba zavedati, da se morajo livarne spopadati z nihanji pri svojih glavnih stroškovnih postavkah kot so cene odpadnega železa, namreč surovin, ki se uporabljajo pri proizvodnji litega železa, ter tudi nihanji pri deviznih tečajih.