News und Publikationen
27.11.2018
Länder- und Branchenbewertungen

Französische Unternehmen: Anstieg der Insolvenzen, aber höhere Margen ermöglichen es Auswirkungen des schwächeren Welthandels im 2019 abzufedern.

Französische Unternehmen: Anstieg der Insolvenzen, aber höhere Margen ermöglichen es Auswirkungen des schwächeren Welthandels im 2019 abzufedern.
  • Nach zwei Jahren der Besserung steigen die Insolvenzen und dieser Trend wird sich wohl im 2019 fortsetzen (Prognose von +0,8%).
  • Dieser Trend betrifft vor allem Kleinstunternehmen mit einem Umsatz von weniger als 500.000 EUR.
  • Die enttäuschende Exportperformance der französischen Unternehmen ist zum Teil darauf zurückzuführen, die Margen zu erhöhen.
  • Dies gilt für die meisten wichtigen Exportsektoren: Automobil, Pharmazeutik, Luftfahrt und Agrar- und Ernährungswirtschaft.
  • Die kürzlich Erhöhung der Margen wird sich als Vorteil erweisen, um die Auswirkungen der Verlangsamung des Welthandels im Jahr 2019 abfedern zu können.

 

 

(Publikation ist nur in ENG und FRA erhältlich)

Rebound in insolvencies in the 3rd quarter

In the third quarter of 2018, after two years of improvement, French companies experienced a reversal of the trend with the number of insolvencies increasing by +2.3% (compared to the same quarter of 2017), in line with the slowdown in growth (1.6% in 2018) and consumption. Nine out of thirteen regions are affected, notably the Île-de-France region, which historically accounts for numerous insolvencies, but the extent of the rise has been limited by a decrease in PACA and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. At this stage, only micro-enterprises with revenues of less than EUR 500,000 are impacted. The fastest increases have been recorded in the sectors of transport (+19.7%), in particular taxis (+43%), and agriculture and fishing (+15.2%). Construction (+1.9%) and personal services (+8.8%), which together account for nearly half of all insolvencies, have suffered further deterioration.

Before this turnaround, since 2014 companies managed a return to profitability. At the end of September 2018, year-on-year, insolvencies dropped by -4.5%, their financial and employment costs fell by -5.4% and -4.8% respectively, confirming the improving health of the largest companies. Paradoxically, the increase in cost competitiveness (+5.5% between 2014 and 2016), attributable to the entry into force of the Competitiveness and Employment Tax Credit (CICE) and the reduction of employers' contributions under the Responsibility and Solidarity Pact, did not translate into better export performance.

 

Leading export sectors choose margins at the expense of international market share

France's export performance is all the more disappointing because it differs from the other major economies in the eurozone. Since 2014, Spain (+1.9%), Italy (+0.8%) and Germany (+0.3%) have seen their export performance improve while that of France has declined (-0.4%). However, the cost-competitiveness of these countries has improved far less (+2.2% in Spain, +0.9% in Italy), or even decreased (-0.3% in Germany).

  • This relative disconnect between France's cost-competitiveness gains and export performance is explained by the fact that companies only partially passed on these gains in their export prices and preferred to restore their margin rates rather than gaining export market share.
  • This is true for most key export sectors, which saw a worsened trade balance between 2014 and 2016: automotive, aeronautics, pharmaceuticals, agri-food, computing and electrical equipment.
  • Few sectors preferred to reduce their margin rate: mechanical engineering was the exception.
  • It should be noted that some sectors have been able to increase their margins while improving their trade balance: chemicals, buoyed up by falling input costs and lower imports of some products, but also the precision instruments sector and the alcoholic beverage industry.

 

2019: restoring margins would be an advantage to cushion the impact of slowing global trade

In 2019, Coface forecasts a rebound in the number of insolvencies in France of +0.8%, after a decline of -3.4% in 2018. GDP growth is expected to decrease to 1.5% in 2019, due to a deteriorating international environment, linked in particular to the rise of protectionism, and the persistence of supply constraints. The confidence index for construction, which is one of the indicators used by Coface in its model, should continue to decline as well.

Despite this reversal, the margin rate should remain stable at a comfortable level in 2019 and allow companies to mitigate the effects of the slowdown in world trade, or even achieve export performance gains. The measures contained in the 2019 Finance Bill should not have a significant impact on the health of companies. The negative net effect of the Competitiveness and Employment Tax Credit (CICE) switching to a permanent decrease in employers' charges, due to the consequent increase in taxable corporate profit, should be offset by the continued rise in productivity.

 

Download the publication

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presseveröffentlichung herunterladen : Französische Unternehmen: Anstieg der Insolvenzen, aber höhere Marge... (242,43 kB)

Kontakt


Julie SOUM

Media Contact
HAGENHOLZSTRASSE 83 B,
CH-8050 ZÜRICH
SWITZERLAND
 
julie.soum@coface.com
+41 (0) 43 547 00 49

Oben
  • English
  • Français
  • Deutsch