The insolvencies registered in the first half of this year, of 1,313 companies, an increase of 2% compared to the same period last year, represent a turnover of 550 million euros according to Cosec – Companhia de Seguros de Crédito.
Braga district is in third place on the list, registering 13.3% of insolvencies in the country, 0.1% more than in the same period of 2019.
“During the first half of the year, 1,313 companies became insolvent, which represents a 2% growth compared to the same period last year and a turnover of more than 550 million euros”, reads a note released by the company.
According to Cosec, insolvencies “represent a potential loss of 10,803 jobs and around 172 million euros of credits to suppliers to be settled”, with micro-enterprises representing 45% of the cases, in a scenario influenced by the covid pandemic. -19.
“About 67% of the number of jobs at risk and 74% of the value of credits to suppliers are concentrated in micro and small companies, which reflects the weight of these companies in the total of insolvent companies and their greater vulnerability in relation to challenges of the current economic scenario ”, indicated Cosec.
The services sector leads in number of insolvencies, with 306 companies, an increase from 22.4% in the first half of 2019 to 23.3% for the same period in 2020. “The construction sector follows (14.4 %), with a total of 189 insolvent companies, and the retail sector (13.1%), with 172 ”, informed Cosec.
Similar to what happened in the first half of last year, in terms of geographic distribution, “Porto has the highest number (25.1%, against 27.2% in the first half of 2019), followed by Lisbon (20.3% %, against 17.3%) and the district of Braga (13.3%, against 13.2%) ”, with the“ districts of Beja, Portalegre and Évora continuing to register the lowest number of insolvencies, with a total than 25 cases, ”according to Cosec.
On the other hand, until May 2020, “17,503 companies were created in Portugal, which represents a decrease of 35%”.
Costs for the Special Revitalization Process (PER) decreased by 30% in the first half (178 in total, against 253 registered in the first six months of 2019), said Cosec, led by the services, food and construction sectors.
In the same statement, Cosec reported the estimates of its shareholder Euler Hermes, who believes that “in the case of the Portuguese economy, the estimates point to a 30% increase in insolvencies by the end of the year. This growth is expected to slow down in 2021: the number of insolvencies is expected to increase by 10% ”.
Globally, insolvencies could increase by 17% this year and 16% in 2021, according to the company.
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