September was the worst bankruptcy month since the financial crisis. The bankruptcies also affected active companies with employees, and almost 1,250 jobs disappeared in September as a direct result of bankruptcies. The trend is unfortunately clear: We are moving towards more bankruptcies among healthy companies, according to SMVdanmark.
36 per cent more bankruptcies
The number of bankruptcies in companies with employees was in September at its highest since the financial crisis, and the number has increased by 36 per cent since the same time last year. This is shown by a new analysis from SMVdanmark. The analysis can be read here (only in Danish).
Not a good sign
Lasse Lundqvist, who is an economist at SMVdanmark, is deeply concerned about the companies’ financial future:
– The latest bankruptcy figures do not bode well for the coming months. The development only points in one direction, towards more bankruptcies. High energy prices have hit the companies; simultaneously, many are holding large stocks, and now the desire to buy is failing. It’s a bad combination. And if, on top of that, you’re lugging around debts from the covid-19 pandemic, you are in even more trouble. We see that clearly in the figures,” he says.
The crisis has been hard for construction companies
Bankruptcies affect a wide range of companies, but construction companies, in particular, are hit hard by the crisis:
– The bankruptcies have started to spread like wildfire. At first, it was primarily in the construction industry, then it was industry and trade, and now we see the same development across virtually all industries, explains Lasse Lundqvist.
Many challenges at the same time
The analysis also shows that it is the rising prices, problems with the supply chains, meaning it can be difficult to get goods home, and the war in Ukraine which affect the companies.
– Right now, there are an incredible amount of different challenges that are pressuring companies. The pandemic meant that many companies used up their saved funds. In addition, several companies were forced to make use of corona loans. The companies’ prerequisite for getting through the new crisis – the energy crisis – is far worse than it would have been if it had not been caught in the slipstream of the previous crises, says Lasse Lundqvist.
Self-assessing “big” or “some” risk
When the construction companies themselves have to assess the risk of them not coping with the crisis and going bankrupt, five per cent answer that the risk is “big” or that there is “some” risk.
