The Location Profitability of Industrial Plants at the 9th Mile Area of Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the profitability of industries located in the 9^th Mile area of Enugu State, Nigeria, to determine the extent of costs and revenues involved in the industrial productions in the area and the suitability of the area in industrial activities. It adopted a survey research design and simple random and purposive sampling techniques in selecting the 32 studied industrial plants out of the 52 available industrial plants in the 9th Mile area. This is 64.0% of the 50 functional industrial plants in the area. The population comprised the management of the 32 accessible and functional industrial plants who agreed to fill out our questionnaire and were ready for the interview. The identified managers were production, marketing, and plant/site managers, who were in a better position to give relevant information on costs involved in the production processes and revenues from the sales of products. The data for this study were obtained using a questionnaire (unstructured), interview, field observation, and documentary materials. The field data were analysed using the difference between revenue and cost graphs, especially line graphs. The results of the analyses indicate profits at varying sizes and rates in every 32 studied industrial plants because the revenue values are more than the values of costs. The profit trend for each year in each of the industrial plants ranges from tens of thousands of naira to tens of millions of naira. However, due to accidents and cheating (supplied wastes as raw material) by the supply sources respectively, Aptro Filling Station and Alex Enterprise obtained losses in 2013 and 2018. Therefore, it is recommended that the 9^th Mile area is a fertile ground for different industrial activities due to its location and available resources, particularly water (good aquifer), local and regional markets, and transport facilities.