Results of non-financial corporations to 2022 Q2

Abstract

The Central Balance Sheet Data Office Quarterly Survey data show that ordinary profit grew sharply in 2022 H1, with average profitability levels close to those of 2019. These positive economic developments translated into an improvement in the ability to repay corporate debt. For their part, average liquidity ratios declined, reversing the increase recorded following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In any event, a more detailed analysis evidences a less favourable trend for certain groups of firms than that inferred from aggregate data. In particular, the article includes a box showing signs of deterioration in the economic and financial situation of some of the firms most exposed to the rise in energy prices. Specifically, firms whose activity has recovered less in the recent period because they have not benefited as much from the lifting of the pandemic-related restrictions on movement would be in this situation.