Companies Continue to Pay on Time Despite Economic Downturn
According to a spring survey by the creditor protection association Creditreform among 1,400 companies, 73 percent of respondents reported receiving payments within 30 days – almost unchanged from the previous year (72.8 percent). Long payment terms of more than 90 days remained the exception at three percent.
Construction Industry with Deterioration
Particularly in the construction industry, deadlines have been extended. Only 58 percent of companies received their money within 30 days (previous year: just over 75 percent). Creditreform sees the reason in project delays or stoppages, which postpone payments. Subcontractors at the end of the payment chain often wait longer.
In contrast, the manufacturing industry shows a positive trend: 67.7 percent of companies received their money within 30 days (previous year: 61.1 percent). Long-term payment terms over 90 days slightly decreased there. The trade and service sectors reported slightly more payments within a month, but also more transfers with over 90 days delay.
More Defaults Despite Stable Willingness to Pay
While the overall willingness to pay remains high, payment defaults have increased. 11.7 percent of respondents stated that defaults accounted for more than one percent of sales (previous year: 9.3 percent). The manufacturing industry (14.3 percent) and the service sector (13.3 percent) were particularly affected. Only 26 percent of medium-sized companies remained completely without defaults.
Increase in "Last-Minute" Payments
The creditor protection association KSV1870 also sees the willingness to pay as stable, but observes a different development: “It is noticeable that payment terms are increasingly being exhausted and payments are more frequently delayed until the last minute,” explained Julia Sokic, authorized officer of KSV1870 Forderungsmanagement GmbH. In addition, companies have to put in more effort to collect their receivables.
(APA/Red)
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