One in four companies is in difficulty in Belgium
More than a quarter (27%) of companies are in difficulty today. They were 18% at the end of the covid crisis, according to estimates from GraydonCreditsafe relayed by L’Echo on Saturday. The analysis office examined the balance sheets of 460,000 companies as well as the evolution of payments of 2.5 million bills per quarter, with particular attention to energy bills and wages.
At least 115,000 companies have now burned their reserves, compared to 76,000 just under a year ago. The share of sound companies has shrunk from 47% to 39%, and the need for injection of funds has increased by 20 billion euros. A deterioration above all linked to the price of energy, but the indexation of wages also plays a role.
It is the service voucher sector that pays the heaviest bill. Half of the companies there are now in the red zone. Horeca and the food industry follow, with four out of ten companies lacking funds to get through the crisis.
GraydonCreditsafe pleads for aid at several levels, targeted rather than linear. For example, by relaunching notional interest (which the Federal government has just abolished) with interest rates linked to inflation, by fiscally stimulating the acquisition of minority stakes in companies in difficulty by companies in good health or even by primarily helping companies engaged in the green transition.