Germany corporate payment survey 2016: so far, so good, but the devil is in the details

(Etude uniquement disponible en anglais)

2016 marks the first time Coface has carried out a payment survey for Germany. This follows on from other surveys presented this year for China, seven other Asia-Pacific countries and Morocco. The German survey shows that, despite the country’s solid economic situation, nearly 84% of companies are affected by delays in payments. Nevertheless, the positive situation of German companies is reflected in their assessment of a slight reduction in financial volumes of outstanding receivables over the past year. Payment delays for the companies surveyed remain within manageable temporary limits. Potential liquidity risks from very long overdue receivables are thus comparably low.

The picture across the business sectors is mixed. According to Coface’s calculations, payment delays amount to 41.4 days on a cross-sector average. However, some segments report much longer payment delays, particularly the Mechanics and Precision Industries (60.0 days) and Transportation (55.2 days). The Chemicals/ Oils/Minerals and IT / Telecommunication sectors have enjoyed the shortest overdue periods.

Questioned on their expectations regarding overdues, the “optimists” and “pessimists” are fairly balanced. While Transportation and the Wholesale trade expect a worsening, Paper/Packaging/Printing and the Mechanics/Precision Industries anticipate significant improvements.

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• German Economy with solid growth
• Background information on the Coface study
• Payment experience in the German economy
• Payment experiences in different sectors