Intrum, the European credit services operator, has published the 2023 edition of the European Payment Report (EPR), a document now in its twenty-fifth edition, based on a survey conducted simultaneously in 29 European countries.
More than 10,000 companies from 15 different sectors participated in the research, 800 of which were Italian, represented by top management and subject matter experts within the financial departments.
Despite a macroeconomic scenario that has not yet normalized, Italian companies are proving to be resilient and in 38% of cases, according to the EPR 2023, declare that economic activity is stronger today than 12 months ago, compared to 27% in Europe.
More than half of companies (55%) have reduced consumption to meet rising energy costs and significantly accelerated efforts to increase their sustainability.
56% of Italian companies say they have shifted their focus from growth (the main goal of companies last year, as indicated in EPR 2022) to greater efficiency and cost savings.
85% of companies reveal that if their employees haven’t already asked for higher-than-normal pay raises, they likely will soon.
In Italy, 64% of companies say they are increasingly concerned about the debtors’ ability to pay within the agreed terms and at the same time, in 54% of cases, admit that they have difficulty paying suppliers on time due to inflation .
The impact of late payments acts as a drag on development, diverting resources that would otherwise be used to improve sustainability, expand supply or hire new staff.