The figures for the first quarter of 2022, published on April 12, 2022, by the firm Altares show that many companies remain fragile.
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A company is said to be in default or in bankruptcy when receivership proceedings are initiated against it, usually when the company can no longer pay its suppliers or meet its debts. Business failures had fallen to historically low levels in 2020 and 2021, but now it’s starting again: nearly 10,000 failures were recorded between the beginning of January and the end of March according to the firm Altares, up 35% from compared to the same period last year. We are practically back to pre-crisis levels.
This upward reboot dates from last November and since then the progression has accelerated every month. This is explained by the scissor effect caused by the end of public aid and the surge in energy prices. Over the past two years, we know that more than 46,000 companies have been saved from failure thanks to “whatever the cost”. Without the financial aid of the State, failures would have exploded.
All sectors and all regions concerned
As the pandemic began to fade, the State gradually lifted its financial support, but the War in Ukraine very quickly arrived, resulting in rising energy and raw material prices. That is to say that the companies, which had regained some cash, are once again weakened. According to the director of studies of Altares, Thierry Millon, it is not a wave but rather a return to reality: many companies remain fragile.
No territory is spared and the most affected sectors are trade (particularly in the automotive industry), catering, business services and agriculture. VSEs and young companies are the most vulnerable. Nearly half of the companies that went bankrupt in the first quarter were created less than five years ago.