Companies lose more than €26,000m when chasing payments from their customers, according to Intrum

Madrid, May 23. (Press Europe) –

Spanish companies lose more than €26,000m when chasing payments from their customers and take up to 81 days to complete the task, seven days more than the European average, this highlights real estate and credit asset management services company Intrum.

In the new edition of his study “European Payments Report”, presented on Tuesday 23 May, Spain appears as the fifth country in which companies invest more time in this task. It is followed by Finland, which has 83 days, Poland, 82, and Germany and Italy, 81. The countries in which entities can collect their debts the fastest are Ireland, with 51 days, Serbia, with 58 days, and Lithuania, with 59 days.

The report, which was conducted in 29 countries across Europe, states that among the reasons that have made it difficult for European companies to charge their customers is “the current economic context, which is characterized by problems with supply chains and increasing costs, as well as slowing economic growth.” “. 60% of companies surveyed in Spain believe that high inflation will persist for a year or longer, eight points below the European average.

Similarly, 6 out of 10 Spanish establishments expect that in the next 12 months these factors will affect their customers’ payments. Almost half of the entities (55%) in the study confirmed that managing treasury and financial debt “will be more important than ever.”

Spanish organizations are also likely to consider that the risk of default will increase over the next year, at 67%, compared to the European average of 60%. Likewise, more than half (55%) of the companies surveyed confirm that customers are asking them, more and more, to change the main points of payment agreements, with the aim of postponing the payment of invoices or obtaining discounts. A figure seven points above the average response in Europe (48%).

Intrum warns that these behaviors have a series of consequences for companies and their growth strategies, with 72% of organizations surveyed confirming that faster payments by their customers will allow them to increase their investment in new products and services, compared to 62% of organizations surveyed. European average.

Increasing interest rates is also a constant concern for companies at the European level. 54% of the entities surveyed in Spain confirm that due to this anti-inflationary measure they will have to rethink their business growth strategy in order to gain greater efficiency and save costs.

This idea matches what is planned for the rest of the continent, with an average response rate of 53%. “More than half of organizations in large markets, such as the UK (61%), Germany (57%), Italy (56%), Portugal (57%) and France (50%), also tend to prioritize stability over developing their business,” notes the consultant. .

Therefore, with the aim of managing the economic situation, 31% of the companies indicated that they will choose in the coming months to reduce costs, and 24% indicated that they will ensure faster customer payments compared to other measures such as expanding their investments in innovation and development of new products to be more competitive (9% ). “Some measures that will help them ensure the solidity of their business until the situation stabilizes,” says Intrum.