Liquidity squeeze as business debt write-offs escalate

Intrum Justitia AB 

07.05.2012 07:00

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Key European Statistics
The following statistics are taken from Intrum Justitia's 2012 European Payment
Index (EPI 2012), an annual survey of over 7,800 businesses across Europe. 

Stockholm, 2012-05-07 07:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 

  -- 57% of businesses in Europe claim to have problems with liquidity due to
     late payments, an increase of 10% from last year. There is also a great
     divide between countries. 96% of the businesses surveyed in Greece claim to
     have liquidity problems due to late payment compared to only 37% of
     businesses in Finland.
  -- Written-off debt across Europe has risen by EUR28 billion over the past 12
     months, reaching EUR340 billion.
  -- Europe's economies show a mixed picture. Germany, Europe's largest economy,
     shows considerable strength and sees written-off debt declining to its
     lowest level since 2008, 2.0%.This represents a decline by 17% from last
     year.
  -- The Nordic countries also show positive trends. Finland sees its
     written-off debt decline by 16% from last year to 1.6% - the lowest share
     in Europe. Denmark, Norway and Sweden see their written-off debt declining
     by more than, or just under, 10%.
  -- Countries struck hard by financial turmoil are found on the other end of
     the spectrum. Greece, sees its written-off debt surging to 5.9%, an
     increase of 20% from last year. The situation is just as bad in Bulgaria
     and Romania. Portugal, Poland and Hungary are showing worrying signs -
     their written-off debt has increased by 13%, 14% and 17% respectively from
     last year.
  -- The UK, Europe's third largest economy, is also showing a negative trend.
     Its written-off debt has increased from 3.2% to 3.5%, an increase of more
     than 9% from last year.
  -- Contracted days to payment have decreased from 36 to 32 days in
     business-to-business payments. On the other hand, the average number of
     days in payment delay is still 20 days, with the consequence that
     businesses are squeezed for liquidity.



Click here to get the report in full, with detailed statistics and a video with
the CEO's comments >> 


To request the report in full, please visit our webpage www.intrum.com



For further information, please contact:

Madeleine Bosch, Head of EPI Research, Intrum Justitia
Tel: +31 70 452 7323
Mobile: +31 64 6212 579
Email: m.bosch@intrum.com

Annika Billberg, IR & Communications Director
Direct: + 46 8 546 102 03
Mobile: + 46 702 67 97 91
E-mail: a.billberg@intrum.com



About Intrum Justitia

Intrum Justitia is Europe's leading Credit Management Services (CMS) group and
offers services designed to measurably improve clients' cash flows and
long-term profitability, including purchase of receivables. Founded in 1923,
Intrum Justitia has some 3,300 employees in 20 countries. Consolidated revenues
amounted to around SEK 4 billion in 2011. Intrum Justitia AB has been listed on
NASDAQ OMX Stockholm since 2002. For further information, please visit
www.intrum.com 

About the European Payment Index

The survey was conducted simultaneously in 28 countries between January and
March 2012. The survey was conducted in written form and more than 7,800
companies responded. This is the eighth year that Intrum Justitia has run the
survey. 

The questionnaire was translated into the respective national languages.
Dispatch and return of the questionnaires were carried out on a decentralized
basis by the countries concerned, whereas the analysis was carried out
centrally in accordance with predetermined guidelines. All information has been
verified and uncertainties were not included in the evaluation. Furthermore,
not all anonymously sent questionnaires were taken into account for the
evaluation. Companies in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland were questioned
online by a specialized company (BING Research). Bulgaria, Slovenia and Romania
were researched by the countries and double checked against a separate on-line
survey by a specialized company (BING Research).
News Source: NASDAQ OMX



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Language:     English
Company:      Intrum Justitia AB
              
               
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