Financial arrears of Polish firms reached a record 45 billion PLN (over 10 billion euros) after the third quarter of this year. Financial problems have particularly increased in the sectors of education, culture, entertainment and recreation. However, the highest amounts of unpaid obligations continue to be observed in trade, industry and construction. A particularly high proportion of companies with problems can be observed in the TSL sector. An improvement in the situation is being noted in construction and among manufacturers – this is according to data gathered in the Debtors Register of BIG InfoMonitor and the BIK database. Over 86% of companies have counterparts who often pay past the deadline. In transport, this percentage even amounts to 100%. This is one of the key reasons for the creation of payment backlogs in the economy.
At the end of September this year, the sum of overdue companies’ obligations towards counterparties and banks, according to data gathered in the Debtors Register of BIG InfoMonitor and the BIK database, exceeded a record 45.1 billion PLN, which means a y-o-y increase of over 2.7 billion PLN (6.4%). Around 326.8 thousand companies contributed to this change, an increase of 14,407 from last year. On average, an entrepreneur today owes 138,000 PLN. The share of all companies with problems remains at the same level – about 5%.
Companies’ arrears of 45 billion PLN is a huge amount, which leaves a significant mark on the national economy. To better understand its scale, it can be compared to significant expenditures or indicators. It’s equivalent to around 19% of health care expenditures in Poland for 2023, which then stood at nearly 242 billion PLN.
The sectors leading in the highest arrears towards banks and counterparties were trade, industry and construction. Overdue debts of companies operating in trade reached almost 9.2 billion PLN. Not much less, i.e. 7.2 billion PLN, is owed by the industry sector today, while construction is third, with financial liabilities exceeding 5.9 billion PLN. Over the last year, indebtedness in construction and industry decreased by 5.6% and 3.5% respectively. Despite this, it’s still too early to speak of any improvement in their financial condition.
Among the sectors with the highest arrears:
– Trade (wholesale and retail) – approx. 9.2 billion PLN
– Industry – approx. 7.2 billion PLN
– Construction – over 5.9 billion PLN
– TSL – approx. 3.4 billion PLN
– Real estate market services – approx. 2.6 billion PLN
Meanwhile, arrears in the TSL sector increased by 17%, while those in the real estate market services and water supply, waste management, waste recovery increased by 13% to 313.3 million PLN.
Financial arrears decreased in construction (-5.6%), industry (-3.5%) and mining and extraction (-3%). However, the number of bad debtors continues to grow in these sectors.
Businesses should especially pay attention to the payment ability of companies in these sectors and carefully check who they are dealing with before deciding to cooperate.
As Slawomir Grzelczak, CEO of BIG InfoMonitor indicated, “Each of the analyzed sectors is heterogeneous. They differ from each other in terms of activities, structures, functions or technologies, as well as dynamics of development. Each branch of the economy plays a different role and has different characteristics.”
In the fourth quarter of this year, over 86% of surveyed SMEs admitted that they cooperate with counterparties who do not settle their obligations on time. Transport is most exposed to this problem, with 100% of such cases, and trade, which records about 90%.
The sources of this article are the Debtors Register BIG InfoMonitor and the BIK database, and the “SME Scanner” survey conducted among micro, small and medium enterprises by the Institute of Research and B2B Solutions Keralla Research, among a sample of 500 companies selling with deferred payment terms, using telephone interviews, in Q4 2024.
Source: https://ceo.com.pl/rekordowe-zadluzenie-polskich-firm-zaleglosci-przekroczyly-45-mld-zl-99137
