Trend in the financial structure and results of firms in 2008

Abstract

The article looks at the financial situation of non-financial corporations in Belgium over the period running from 1 January to 31 December 2008. Because of the contrasting economic trends during that period, the analysis is somewhat blurred. Nevertheless, the data collected still give a good idea of the resistance capacity of firms at the beginning of the recession. For the year 2008 as a whole, growth of the total value added generated by Belgian non-financial corporations amounted to 1.8 p.c. (in current prices), well down on previous years. Meanwhile, operating costs grew more quickly than value added, resulting in a drop in operating profit for the first time since 2001. As far as the financial position of firms is concerned, there was a widespread decline in profitability and repayment ability in 2008, due to the economic downturn. On the other hand, solvency ratios continued to rise as a result of newly-invested capital. Finally, a distribution analysis shows that a large proportion of firms are in an unfavourable situation and that the dispersion of ratios has widened over the last ten years.firms’ results, financial structure, sectoral analysis, distribution analysis