The EBIT formula is a crucial financial indicator that every businessperson and entrepreneur must understand. EBIT, or Earnings Before Interest and Tax, is a measure of a company’s profit before deducting interest expenses and taxes.
By understanding the EBIT formula, you can determine how effectively a company generates profits from its operations, regardless of funding structure and tax policies. In the business world, the EBIT formula is a very useful tool for assessing a company’s pure operational performance.
This article will discuss EBIT in depth, from its definition, formula, and calculation. This understanding will help entrepreneurs manage their finances and determine business policies more easily.
What is EBIT?
Before discussing the EBIT formula, you first need to understand what EBIT is. As mentioned previously, EBIT stands for Earnings Before Interest and Tax, which in Indonesian means profit before interest and taxes.
EBIT reflects a company’s operating profit earned from core business activities, excluding interest expenses and tax liabilities. In other words, EBIT indicates a company’s ability to generate profits from its business operations before the impact of financing and taxes.
EBIT is crucial because it provides a more accurate picture of a company’s operational profitability. It allows business owners, managers, and investors to assess how efficiently a company manages operating costs and generates revenue from its core business activities.
EBIT is also often used as a basis for comparing performance between companies in the same industry, as its calculation eliminates variables that are not directly related to business operations.
The Importance of Understanding EBIT

Understanding EBIT is crucial for companies because it helps them measure operational performance without the influence of varying capital structures and tax policies. This allows companies to focus on optimizing core business activities to increase profitability.
Furthermore, EBIT is an important indicator in managerial decision-making, such as cost management, product pricing, and operational efficiency evaluation. EBIT is also useful for investors and creditors in assessing a company’s financial health and ability to generate operating profits before accounting for interest and tax expenses.
EBIT formula
When calculating EBIT, several important components must be present, namely revenue and operating expenses. Specifically, operating expenses include those directly related to company activities and those not. Direct expenses include production, administration, and marketing expenses.
Meanwhile, indirect expenses include interest, income taxes, and non-operational income and expenses, such as asset sales and investments. Broadly speaking, the following is a commonly used EBIT formula:
EBIT = Income – Operating Expenses
In the EBIT formula, operational expenses refer to expenses directly related to company activities, such as administrative, marketing, and production expenses. Another formula that can be used is:
EBIT = Net Profit + Tax + Interest
In the formula above, net profit is calculated after taxes and interest are subtracted from operating profit. The result is then added to net profit.
The first formula provides information related to the EBIT figure directly on the profit and loss statement. Meanwhile, the second EBIT formula provides actual information on tax and interest expenses added to net profit.
Furthermore, the first formula provides information on the business’s initial operational activities. Meanwhile, the second formula shows year-end profits, as well as tax and interest expenses.
Example of EBIT Formula Calculation

To make it easier to understand how to use the EBIT formula, you can look at the following example.
1. Assume that both companies reported net profits of Rp2,000,000 and Rp1,500,000, respectively. Without calculating EBIT, you would assume that company A performed better than company B.
For example, if PT A and PT B have taxes and interest of Rp100,000 and Rp700,000, respectively, then the totals based on the second EBIT formula yield Rp2,100,000 for PT A and Rp2,200,000 for PT B.
From the EBIT calculation, it is concluded that PT B’s operations are actually more optimal than PT A’s.
2. Company C generated revenue of Rp2,000,000,000 from transactions over a 12-month period. However, the company also incurred several costs to support its operations, including:
- Production: Rp700,000,000
- Employee wages: Rp. 400,000,000
- Marketing: Rp. 200,000,000
- Administration: Rp. 100,000,000
- Interest: Rp. 50,000,000 → not included in operations
- Tax: Rp. 80,000,000 → not included in operations
If you use the first EBIT formula, you only need to include revenue and expenses for operational activities, excluding interest and taxes. Based on the data above, PT C’s operational costs are:
Production + Wages + Marketing + Administration = 1,400,000,000
Next, calculate the company’s EBIT, namely Revenue – Operations, to get the following figure:
= 2,000,000,000 – 1,400,000,000
= 600.000.000
Optimize Business Operations with Labamu
Whether you’re a novice or a professional entrepreneur, understanding the EBIT formula and how to calculate it is a crucial step in effectively managing your company’s finances. To simplify financial management and reporting, you can use the Labamu app.
Labamu is an accounting application that helps you record, manage, and analyze business finances easily and accurately. Furthermore, Labamu also offers the LabamuHub feature, which allows you to connect with a community of entrepreneurs and professionals who share experiences and business tips.
Come on, take advantage of the Labamu application and join LabamuHub to optimize financial management and grow your business!


