Post-Covid, despite the now total recovery of activities and government aid, it will not be easy for most Italian companies. To certify it is an in-depth analysis of the information systemo Excelsior of Unioncamere, according to which there are almost 780 thousand (58,4% of the total) businesses that anticipate having liquidity problems in the next six months and just under 565 thousand (the remaining 41,6%) those who instead expect a less difficult financial future.
The demand crisis that was triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate of uncertainty regarding recovery times, also linked to the widespread criticality on global markets, make many companies fear they may not be able to generate the cash flows necessary to guarantee the ordinary business operations. The analysis was conducted on the universe of 1.380 thousand companies with at least one employee, between 22 June and 6 July 2020 from Unioncamere in agreement with Anpal, to evaluate employment prospects following the Coronavirus emergency.
The companies that presented themselves in front of the shock generated by the pandemic by operating steadily on international markets and those with advanced and integrated digitization strategies show relatively greater financial strength: in fact, 48,0% and 45,0% of the related totals are respectively the companies that do not report difficulties (between 6 and 3 points more than the average).
In reverse, micro enterprises suffer the most (1-9 employees) for which the share of those reporting an insufficient level of liquidity reaches 60,4%, a situation that improves significantly as the size of the company increases, reaching 44,0% in companies over 250.
The restaurant and services related to the tourism chain represent the sector most affected by the effects of the lack of liquidity, reported by just under three quarters of companies (73,8%), since important segments of the sector, such as that linked to foreign presences in art cities, have recovered only very marginally. Above-average liquidity problems in the tertiary sector also for other personal services (which also include recreational, cultural and sporting activities) and for private education and training.
Among the industrial sectors, however, it is the fashion chain to have been more sensitively affected by the consequences of lockdown, so much so that liquidity problems are indicated by 68,0% of the companies in this sector, but shares above 60% are also observed in the wood-furniture and paper industry. Situation of substantial equilibrium between companies with and without liquidity problems in the mechanical and electrical and electronic industries.
The liquidity shortage is more intense in the South and Islands (two thirds of the companies highlight it) and in the Center (60,3%), while in the northern regions the problem is reported in 53-54% of cases.
