The overdue payments of domestic firms last year amounted to around RON 56 billion, almost the same value to that reported in the previous year, while the number of companies with debts to suppliers was 76,893 (12 percent), according to a KeysFin analysis data, released on Monday.
They represent 33 percent of total turnover in the Romanian economy.
Outstanding payments to suppliers amounted in 2015 to RON 56.5 billion, down slightly from the RON 57.8 billion reported, almost identically, in 2013 and 2014. In this context, preliminary data show that in 2016, despite the measures of fiscal relaxation and economic growth based mainly on consumption, the overdue payments level was around the same level of the previous year.
Of the total amount of overdue payments, almost half belongs to the companies with Romanian capital (RON 25.6 billion), followed by foreign companies (RON 11.95 billion), joint venture firms (RON 7.95 billion) and state-owned companies (RON 7.33 billion), KeysFin also reveals.
At the same time, the total outstanding payments in the economy, less than a year, which includes also the debts to the state budget stood at RON 268.8 billion in 2015.
“(…) Many companies are living from the financial turnover, depend on every dime they have to collect or pay it. The more they postpone the payments, the more they manage to ensure the necessary funds for their business continuity. Unfortunately, there are extreme cases, when payments are made in 6-8 months and more,” KeysFin experts explain.
The most affected domain is trade, with 27,009 companies that have reported delays in paying suppliers, followed by manufacturing and construction with 9,134 companies, 8,443 respectively.