Building Profits in State Corps (Kebir Blue)

My state has about 17 corporations. Some things just can't turn a profit. I refer to Road Maintenance in particular. I tried setting my hiring levels down, but that made the problem worse. I've also tweaked my contracting a bit, by eliminating it. It made no sense to be paying my corps for 280quality inputs, when we don't need that high quality input.

Should I be closing fully-upgraded corps that can't turn a profit, or holding onto them in hopes of better market conditions?

I'm also a bit of a stats geek, and you can find my spreadsheet of my corporate profits here(http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Al7WyDWAB3xTdEhiYnBPQTdvZTRlclF5THhSYXpnc1E&hl=en), if you'd care for details to comment.

So, what are some good ways to improve my profitability? Is it really necessary to start an enterprise and have it buy my successful corps?

Enterprise corporations are a bit better than state corporations, assuming that both are run by an equally competent player. They have higher quality and effectivity upgrades and lower fixed costs. The best option is to have your country's corporations controlled by your own enterprise. This is also a somewhat irritating option because all corporations beyond the 12th cannot be built or bought by your enterprise and will have to be transferred from your country to your enterprise by doing an IPO and selling the shares. I think there are posts that detail the process...

Average supply quality for corporations should not exceed 190. For state corporations, 160-170 is usually enough. (Enterprises can get away with 150ish). Because of this, contracting is often very bad. If you're interested in a detailed explanation of how supply quality is calculated, check the thread "WildEyes' Leaving Guide-to-Everything" here in the General section.

There are some industries in this game that do not make money and probably never will. Road Maintenance is one of these corporations, as are agricultural products, most food products, most mining products, most defensive and offensive weapon systems (some of the ammunition is profitable), and several others. All told, there are more unprofitable industries than profitable ones, particularly on Kebir Blue which has a generally weak economy. It's tricky to learn which products are good and which aren't... it's something you sort of get a feel for eventually by watching the market.

For now though I recommend closing your Road Maintenance, Chocolate, Navy Fighter Planes, and Heavy Artillery Shells corporations. I'd be surprised if any of those ever made anything for you.

Well said Luonnotar ;)

lvl 1
road
chemical
oil
service
lvl 2
household
electric power
military service
lvl 3
HT
air tran

all require HT workers
no low tech company is reliable

build an enterprise and check out the buy corps

Thanks for the advice guys. Using an enterprise, if just to browse all corps through the purchase menu, has shown me which corps are likely to be profitable and which are not.