The short answer
Return on equity (ROE) is profit for the year divided by equity: in Belgian annual accounts, code 9904 divided by code 10/15, times 100. Return on assets (ROA) divides profit by total assets (code 20/58); the National Bank's own version first adds back debt charges and income taxes, so financing and tax do not distort it. Both work on every filing model. The margins need turnover (code 70): net margin is 9904 divided by 70, EBITDA margin is 9901 plus 630, 631/4 and 635/8 divided by 70, and gross margin is 9900 divided by 70. Small and micro companies may leave turnover out, and many do. For them you calculate ROE and ROA and express profit as a share of gross margin instead.
The codes and definitions below come from the National Bank of Belgium's ratio definitions for companies and its current standard filing models, read on 1 October 2026. This is general information, not accounting or financial advice.
The profitability ratios at a glance
Ratio | Formula in Belgian codes | Needs turnover? | What it answers |
|---|---|---|---|
Return on equity (ROE) | 9904 / 10/15 × 100 | No | What the owners earn on their money |
Return on assets (ROA), simple | 9904 / 20/58 × 100 | No | What all assets earn after interest and tax |
Return on assets, National Bank version | (9904 + debt charges + income taxes) / 20/58 × 100 | No | What the assets earn before financing and tax |
Net margin | 9904 / 70 × 100 | Yes | Profit per euro of sales |
EBITDA margin | (9901 + 630 + 631/4 + 635/8) / 70 × 100 | Yes | Operating cash profit per euro of sales |
Gross margin ratio | 9900 / 70 × 100 | Yes | What is left after suppliers |
Profit for the year (9904), equity (10/15) and total assets (20/58) are on all three models (full, abbreviated and micro). Turnover (70) is the problem: on the abbreviated and micro models it is an optional disclosure. Where each line sits is explained in how to read a Belgian income statement.
Return on equity (ROE)
The National Bank calls it the net return on equity after tax (nettorendabiliteit van het eigen vermogen) and defines it the same way on every model:
ROE = profit (loss) for the year (9904) / equity (10/15) × 100
Equity (10/15) covers contributions and capital, revaluation surpluses, reserves, profit or loss carried forward and capital subsidies; what each part means is in equity in Belgian annual accounts. Three details change how you read the result:
Year-end equity, after appropriation. The Belgian balance sheet is drawn up after the profit is allocated, so a dividend to be paid has already left equity. A company that pays out every year keeps ROE high; one that retains everything sees ROE fall as equity grows.
Negative or tiny equity. With negative equity the ratio means nothing, and the National Bank leaves such companies out of its company-level distributions. With very small equity, a modest profit gives a spectacular ROE.
Twelve months. The National Bank annualises the profit of a longer or shorter financial year in its company-level figures. Do the same with an 18-month first year.
Return on assets (ROA)
The simple version, 9904 divided by total assets (20/58), has a weakness: two identical businesses, one funded with debt and one with equity, show different results because interest is already deducted.
The National Bank therefore uses the net return on total assets before tax and debt charges. On the abbreviated and micro models:
ROA (National Bank) = (9904 + recurring financial charges 65 + income taxes 67/77) / 20/58 × 100
On the full model it adds only the debt charges (650 and 653), takes income taxes of the year (9134) and deducts interest subsidies (9126).
Margins on turnover
Margins divide a profit line by turnover, so they compare companies of different sizes in the same activity:
Net margin: 9904 / 70. Everything is deducted: costs, depreciation, interest and tax.
EBITDA margin: (9901 + 630 + 631/4 + 635/8) / 70. Operating profit with the non-cash charges added back; the full method is in how to calculate EBITDA from Belgian annual accounts.
Gross margin ratio: 9900 / 70. The Belgian gross margin is turnover and other operating income minus goods and services bought in, before staff costs, so it is not the textbook gross profit. Gross margin in Belgian annual accounts explains what goes into code 9900 and how to rebuild it from a full model, which has no 9900 line.
The National Bank's own margins are operating, not net. Its net sales margin (nettoverkoopmarge) is recurring operating profit (9901 minus 76A plus 66A) divided by turnover; its gross sales margin (brutoverkoopmarge) adds 630, 631/4 and 635/8 to that numerator. It calculates both only when turnover is filed.
Why small filers have no turnover-based ratios
Small companies may file the abbreviated model and micro companies the micro model. On both, the income statement opens with gross margin (9900), and turnover (70) is optional. If it is left empty, nobody can calculate a margin on turnover: not you, not the National Bank, not any data provider. What remains:
ROE and ROA work in full: every input is on every model.
Profit as a share of gross margin. Divide EBITDA, operating profit or net profit by recurring gross margin (9900 minus 76A). Compare it only within the same activity and with the same company's earlier years.
Trends. Net profit rising for four years says more than one margin.
DuPont in brief
The DuPont breakdown splits ROE into three ratios that multiply back to it:
ROE = net margin (9904 / 70) × asset turnover (70 / 20/58) × equity multiplier (20/58 / 10/15)
It shows where a high ROE comes from: a fat margin, fast-turning assets, or thin equity and a lot of debt. The first two are business quality; the third is risk. The full breakdown needs turnover; without it, split ROE into ROA times the equity multiplier.
A worked example
An illustrative Ghent wholesaler files the abbreviated model and discloses turnover voluntarily. For a real company, look up its annual accounts in the National Bank's Consult first.
Line | Code | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Turnover | 70 | €6,000,000 |
Gross margin (no non-recurring income) | 9900 | €1,500,000 |
Staff costs | 62 | €900,000 |
Depreciation and write-downs on fixed assets | 630 | €150,000 |
Write-downs on stocks and trade debtors | 631/4 | €10,000 |
Other operating charges | 640/8 | €40,000 |
Operating profit | 9901 | €400,000 |
Recurring financial income / charges | 75 / 65 | €5,000 / €45,000 |
Profit before taxes | 9903 | €360,000 |
Income taxes | 67/77 | €90,000 |
Profit for the year | 9904 | €270,000 |
Equity | 10/15 | €1,200,000 |
Total assets | 20/58 | €3,000,000 |
ROE: 270,000 / 1,200,000 = 22.5%.
ROA, simple: 270,000 / 3,000,000 = 9.0%. National Bank version: (270,000 + 45,000 + 90,000) / 3,000,000 = 13.5%.
Net margin: 270,000 / 6,000,000 = 4.5%. EBITDA margin: (400,000 + 150,000 + 10,000) / 6,000,000 = 9.3%. Gross margin ratio: 1,500,000 / 6,000,000 = 25.0%.
DuPont: 4.5% × asset turnover 2.0 × equity multiplier 2.5 = 22.5%, the same ROE.
Without turnover: net profit is 18% of gross margin (270,000 / 1,500,000), and ROE and ROA stay exactly as above.
Now a competitor with the same turnover, margin and total assets but only €600,000 of equity: the equity multiplier becomes 5.0 and ROE 45%. Same business, twice the ROE, all of it from debt.
What profitability ratios do not tell you
One-offs. A gain on selling a building sits in non-recurring income (76A, 76B) and inflates every ratio for a year.
Owner pay. A manager paid through a management company, or barely paid, moves profit without changing the business.
Age. Accounts are filed up to seven months after year end.
Solvency and liquidity. A profitable company can still run out of cash. The financial health check puts profitability next to solvency and liquidity.
By hand this takes minutes per company, which does not scale to a list of prospects or customers. Bizzy shows, on the Financials tab of each Belgian legal entity, a profitability block with four years of figures from the accounts filed with the National Bank: revenue where it was filed, gross margin, EBITDA, EBIT and net profit, each as an amount and a percentage, with the filed PDF per year. Equity and total assets sit in the solvency block of the same tab, so ROE and ROA are one division away. You can start for free; the plans are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate ROE from Belgian annual accounts? Divide profit for the year (code 9904) by equity (code 10/15) and multiply by 100. Both lines are on the full, abbreviated and micro models.
What is a good return on equity? There is no general threshold. Compare with companies in the same activity over several years, and check that a high ROE does not come from thin equity.
Can I calculate a net margin for a small Belgian company? Only if it chose to disclose turnover (code 70). Otherwise use ROE, ROA and profit as a share of gross margin (9900).
What is the difference between ROE and ROA? ROE measures profit against equity, ROA against all assets, however funded. The gap between them is debt: the more a company borrows, the further ROE rises above ROA.
Photo: the Grote Markt of Veurne, Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons